issues

Jun 18, 2010 — Dozens of clergy, community members and Americans facing foreclosure held a vigil outside the Bank of America Tower in New York to call on the bank to implement effective foreclosure prevention programs and help Americans save their homes. BofA refused to meet with homeowners, instead dispatching security to prevent them from entering the building. Read more.

Jun 16, 2010 — The Senate is tired of spending money on unemployment benefits. Americans are tired of losing their homes. Please, ask your Senators to pass a jobs bill, for everyone’s sake. Read more.

May 27, 2010 — The good news: Congress is finally standing up to the big banks. First they passed a major Wall Street reform bill; now, they’re preparing to vote on a jobs bill that closes a tax loophole for some of the richest Wall Street firms. The bad news: many Republicans want to kill this bill and some Democratic senators may help them do it. Read more.

May 11, 2010 — Right now, K Street is the big bank’s HQ in the battle to kill Wall Street reform and keep us under their thumb. But next Monday, the 17th, we’re going to call them out and demand that they stop lobbying for the bank CEOs and against taxpayers. Read more.

May 06, 2010 — SEIU to move conventions, meetings out of Arizona and urge labor partners, lawmakers, and other major U.S. institutions to follow suit Washington D.C.—Today, SEIU Executive Vice President Eliseo Medina joined labor and civil rights leaders to announce that the 2.2. Read more.

Apr 29, 2010 — This is more than just an image problem for the GOP, it’s a reality problem. The reality is, Republicans in Congress have been carrying the water for Wall Street every step of the way. Now that we finally have a Wall Street reform bill before Senators, we get to see each and every Senator’s true colors; are they with us or Wall Street? Read more.

Apr 26, 2010 — What questions would you like to see Lloyd Blankfein answer? You can get them to us by texting ‘GOLDMAN’ and then your question, to 787753. We’ll submit them to Senator Levin’s office and run them live on our website during tomorrow’s hearing. Read more.

Apr 21, 2010 — Next week, we’ll be at big bank shareholder meetings and offices across the country. Thousands of taxpayers will be calling on the banks to stop funding their billion dollar bonuses at our expense. RSVP for an event near you. Read more.

Apr 20, 2010 — Goldman Sachs charged with fraud. Five billion dollars in NEW bonuses and compensation set aside for their top brass. Senator Mitch McConnell and the GOP caucus trying to block legislation that would rein in the very behavior at the center of the fraud charges. I don’t even know where to begin. So, I turn instead to Jon Stewart. Read more.

Mar 30, 2010 — Reuters is reporting that the private equity arm of JPMorgan Chase is in talks to purchase the company that owns American Idol. Since anything these Wall Street banks touch these days turns to ruin, we have serious concerns on behalf of Idol fans everywhere. We decided to help you prepare by coming up with a list of top ten likely changes we’ll see if Chase goes forward with this deal. Read more.

Mar 05, 2010 — Just moments ago, the LA City Council voted to adopt the big banks bill into law. This is a huge blow to Wall Street banks that refuse to invest in our communities — and it only happened with your support. Thousands of you wrote letters to the Council that were adopted into the official record. And dozens more took our message directly to the banks in L.A. where City Councilmember Richard Alarcon joined us to speak out against their harmful practices. Read more.

Feb 19, 2010 — On Tuesday, Los Angeles City Councilmember Richard Alarcon is moving a bill that would set high standards for banks to meet in order to do business with the city of L.A. The message to bankers is clear: if your bank continues to ravage our communities, you don’t get a dime of taxpayers’ money. Period. Los Angeles is the second biggest city in the country. If this bill passes, it will send a message so loud, they’ll hear it all the way on Wall Street. Make sure this bill passes. Read more.

Feb 01, 2010 — In the wake of last week’s report that banks were using loopholes and tricks to skirt the rules on executive compensation, we asked taxpayers to call on the FCIC to investigate the bankers’ pay. In less than 24 hours, more than 5,000 people had submitted requests to the Commission. Now, it appears, our call for an investigation couldn’t come a moment too soon. Read more.

Jan 29, 2010 — As President Obama joins taxpayers in bearing down on the big banks’ reckless behavior, the bankers are striking back — already hard at work on ways to sidestep any new rules that might be put in their way. Bloomberg reports that the the leaders of some of the world’s biggest banks met during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to plot how to reassert their influence with regulators and governments. Instead of figuring out ways to reform their banks, they’re figuring out ways to prevent reform from happening. Read more.

Jan 28, 2010 — Apparently $150 billion just isn’t enough for Wall Street bankers. Today, WSJ is reporting that big banks are breaking their own rules, easing pay restrictions and offering forgivable loans to bankers who need a little extra cash. This news comes just two weeks from when the bank CEOs sat on Capitol Hill and said — under oath — that they had placed new, tough restrictions on executive compensation. Read more.

Jan 27, 2010 — And I can’t say I blame him. Elizabeth Warren is the chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel — the body responsible for overseeing the Treasury’s management of the TARP program. It’s definitely worth taking eight minutes to hear Warren describe the state of Wall Street and our economy. Read more.

Jan 22, 2010 — The Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, affiliates of National People’s Action, are bringing hundreds of taxpayers together in Des Moines, IA to stand up to Wells Fargo, one of the banks that has ravaged Iowans with hidden fees and rampant foreclosures. Taxpayers are headed to Wells Fargo’s Des Moines office with a simple message: use the billions of dollars you’ve set aside for bonuses to fill the budget gaps that are hurting families in Iowa and across the country. Read more.

Jan 11, 2010 — Top BofA officials have agreed to meet with us when thousands of taxpayers gather in Antioch, CA tomorrow. But we need to show them the damage their bank has done can’t fit into one room. That’s why I’m asking you to submit your story online; Let them know how Wall Street’s greedy behavior has hurt you and your community. Read more.

Dec 14, 2009 — When you hear a number like $150 billion going into the pockets of the very bankers who crashed our economy, you can’t help but think of all the better uses for that money. So, we decided to let taxpayers decide how the cash should be spent. In the next few weeks, taxpayers across the country will be holding actions at the big banks. While they announce their record bonus packages, we’ll be there to show them your demands for how that money should be spend to get our economy moving again. Show Wall Street how far $150 billion could go on Main Street by grabbing your $1 million share. Read more.

Dec 09, 2009 — Goldman Sachs has a response on their website to the calls we made to Lloyd Blankfein about the Stella D’Oro factory closing in the Bronx. Shockingly, they say you and I have it all wrong. They even posted a helpful list of facts to bolster their case. Let’s review those facts one-by-one. Read more.

Dec 07, 2009 — Our request for Lloyd Blankfein and the Goldman Sachs Board of Directors is simple: tell us more. Open your books and show us all the ways you’re holding back economic growth. We gave Goldman Sachs $63.6 billion in taxpayer-funded bailouts. That’s 63.6 billion reasons for them to use their board meeting to answer our straightforward questions about how our money is being spent. Help us shed some light on Goldman’s books — send your email to the board. Read more.

Dec 01, 2009 — Bloomberg is reporting that Goldman Sachs execs are loading up on firearms and are now equipped to defend themselves if there is a populist uprising against the bank. So, let’s get this straight. Goldman Sachs orchestrates a financial ruse of global proportions, crashes the U.S. economy, takes billions of our tax dollars—and now they’re scared of us because we’re calling for reform? Read more.

Nov 19, 2009 — Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein feels bad about crashing our economy. To make up for it, he’s decided to give back $500 million of the money he’s made to a handful of small businesses. It’s a gesture so empty, it’s insulting. Never mind that $500m is one good day of trading for Goldman Sachs. Read more.