Americans Across the Country are Joining the Culture of Resistance – You Are Needed!

by Kevin Zeese

Are you tired of big banks making record profits, paying giant executive salaries and bonuses and then cooking the books so they avoid paying taxes? We are. And, we are responding. Join us.

On April 15 in Union Square Park in New York City at 11:00 AM we are holding a “Sounds of Resistance Concert” and protest against the big corporate banks that have undermined the U.S. economy and displaced families from their homes. Big Finance has taken more than a trillion from the Department of Treasury and Federal Reserve to pay for their casino gambling on Wall Street but they are still forcing people out of their homes, not lending to small businesses and choking the economy.

The concert will feature political hip-hop/rock powerhouse Junkyard Empire with special guests Broadcast Live and Sketch the Cataclysm. Chris Hedges will speak about the growing culture of resistance. Other performers and speakers are invited.

The protest will include a picket of the Union Square Bank of America – a major culprit in the great rip off of the American taxpayer.

This concert and protest are part of the effort to build the urgently needed movement to shift power to the people and away from concentrated capital interests.

Our demands:

Stop Foreclosures: The last two years saw record foreclosures with one out of seven houses in the U.S. behind in their mortgage payments. A total of 3.8 million foreclosure filings and actual bank repossessions topped 2.8 million in 2010, a 2% increase over 2009 and a 23% increase over 2008. This record is likely to be broken in 2011. The housing market is so bad that now there are reports of banks walking away from houses in foreclosure, leaving problems in communities.

Pay Fair Share of Taxes: Big banks are not paying taxes, while reaping tax payer bailouts. Bank of America did not pay any federal income taxes in 2010. The largest bank in America didn't pay federal income taxes in 2009 either. If Bank of America paid their fair share of taxes, planned cuts of $1.7 billion in early childhood education (Head Start & Title 1) would not be needed. Bank of America avoids paying taxes by using subsidiaries in offshore tax havens. To eliminate their taxes, they reinvest proceeds overseas, instead of bringing the dollars home, thereby undermining the U.S. economy and avoiding federal taxes. Big Finance, like Bank of America, contributes to record deficits that are resulting in massive cuts to basic services in federal and state governments.

Break Up the Big Corporate Banks: If banks are “too big to fail” then they are too big. They dominate the economy and the political system. Ten huge banks now control 60% of the economy. They ensure concentration of capital and concentration of political power. Because of the federal government’s protection of the big banks, small and moderate sized banks cannot compete. Failure to break up big corporate banks ensures their dominance of the economy and the government. As Senator Dick Durbin said about the banks controlling the senate, in a moment of honest frustration, “they own the place.” It is time for the people to take back ownership of government and politics.

It is urgent that Americans organize, and stand up to the concentrated political/economic power and greed of the financial elite. Join us on April 15 to be part of a people-powered movement that reigns in the power of concentrated corporatism and builds the power of all Americans. Get involved now as we take the steps needed to build a movement that cannot be stopped.

Join us in New York City on April 15, 2011 at 11:00 in Union Square Park.

Kevin Zeese is executive director of Prosperity Agenda.

We need to raise $5,000 for this event to pay for the sound sytem, stage and signs. Please make a contribution now. You can contribute by clicking here.