In a move that could bring an end to the $40 cup of coffee, Bank of America said on Tuesday that it was doing away with overdraft fees on purchases made with debit cards, a decision that could cost the bank tens of millions a year in revenue and put pressure on other banks to do the same.Overdraft charges were a large part of the reason why the big banks were making huge profits while the economy was in freefall and ordinary people were suffering. They constitute a massive transfer of wealth from people whose personal finances are teetering on the edge--as you approach that edge, the bank grabs what little you have left through overdraft fees, and pushes you right off into the financial abyss. And maybe you claw your way back, or maybe you don't--it is not their concern. Although once upon a time it was the role of a bank to help build up the local economy, nowadays the big banks are happy to hasten the downward spiral of troubled communities.
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Banks are bracing for a new federal rule that will require them to get permission from account holders before providing overdraft services for debit purchases and A.T.M. withdrawals. That change was already expected to wipe out billions of dollars in overdraft revenue for the banks.
One step in the right direction: ending the debit overdraft scam
From the New York Times:
"Illinois stuck in a ‘historic, epic’ budget crisis"
From the Tribune (emphasis added):
Illinois government is staring down the barrel of an explosive financial mess, and perhaps nothing frames the danger better than two big numbers.
The first is $26 billion, the grand total that lawmakers have allotted this year for the meat of what the state does: funding education, health care, child welfare, public safety and the machinery of government itself.
The second number is $13 billion, the total of red ink in the state's main checking account that, by law, has to be erased — at least on paper — before a penny can be set aside for day-to-day operations in the fiscal year, which begins July 1.
In short, the deficit is half as big as the core of the state budget.
A trio of state budget updates
All courtesy of Progress Illinois.
First, coverage of 3000-4000 people (including members of SOUL—more on our experiences later) rallying in the state capitol building in Springfield, in support of HB 174.
(More background here.)
Second, Alexander Sharp of Protestants for a Common Good puts the budget crisis in the clearest possible terms: "We are committing slow-motion violence on children, on the elderly, on the mentally ill, and on the disabled".
Third: Are we at the breaking point? An up-to-date summary of the some of the main lowlights of the fallout of the budget crisis. The moral of the story: "Illinois is truly on the verge of collapse. The time for action has long passed."
First, coverage of 3000-4000 people (including members of SOUL—more on our experiences later) rallying in the state capitol building in Springfield, in support of HB 174.
(More background here.)
Second, Alexander Sharp of Protestants for a Common Good puts the budget crisis in the clearest possible terms: "We are committing slow-motion violence on children, on the elderly, on the mentally ill, and on the disabled".
Third: Are we at the breaking point? An up-to-date summary of the some of the main lowlights of the fallout of the budget crisis. The moral of the story: "Illinois is truly on the verge of collapse. The time for action has long passed."
