Comments on: Move Your Money? (Doug Henwood) http://dollarsandsense.org/blog/2010/02/move-your-money-doug-henwood.html The Blog for Dollars & Sense Fri, 13 Apr 2012 07:37:21 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.2 By: Dollars and Sense http://dollarsandsense.org/blog/2010/02/move-your-money-doug-henwood.html/comment-page-1#comment-475 Dollars and Sense Fri, 05 Feb 2010 20:44:53 +0000 http://dandsblog.wordpress.com/2010/02/02/move-your-money-doug-henwood#comment-475 Hi GLI--thanks for the comment. I am ambivalent on this. As you might guess from my first post, I don't see anything particularly wrong with the Move Your Money campaign, as long as people don't imagine that on its own it will bring about huge changes in the banking sector. (I remember that I used to rather passively and unreflectively believe in what I now call "PC consumerism," until I bought my first car, and found myself unconsciously wondering what the PC petroleum company was—and then immediately realizing how ridiculous that was. Effective political action against the oil companies for their many crimes—as against the banks for their many crimes—will have to come from other kinds of activism. Doug H.'s article doesn't really tell us much about what that activism would be, though (which is why, I'm guessing, GLI interprets Doug as saying "there's nothing you can do"). <br /><br />There's one other merit to Doug's argument, though, which is that the MYM campaign might rely on misunderstandings about money and about the banking system, and the campaign itself might reinforce those misunderstandings, and thereby make it harder to take other, more effective action against the banks and the banking system (or other economic activism, if, as Doug seems to suggest, the financial sector shouldn't be the primary target of people's ire). That makes some sense to me. But again, it would be helpful if critics of an activist strategy could point to alternative strategies, and explain how the alternatives are grounded in a better understanding of the actual politics and economics of the situation. —CS Hi GLI–thanks for the comment. I am ambivalent on this. As you might guess from my first post, I don’t see anything particularly wrong with the Move Your Money campaign, as long as people don’t imagine that on its own it will bring about huge changes in the banking sector. (I remember that I used to rather passively and unreflectively believe in what I now call “PC consumerism,” until I bought my first car, and found myself unconsciously wondering what the PC petroleum company was—and then immediately realizing how ridiculous that was. Effective political action against the oil companies for their many crimes—as against the banks for their many crimes—will have to come from other kinds of activism. Doug H.’s article doesn’t really tell us much about what that activism would be, though (which is why, I’m guessing, GLI interprets Doug as saying “there’s nothing you can do”).

There’s one other merit to Doug’s argument, though, which is that the MYM campaign might rely on misunderstandings about money and about the banking system, and the campaign itself might reinforce those misunderstandings, and thereby make it harder to take other, more effective action against the banks and the banking system (or other economic activism, if, as Doug seems to suggest, the financial sector shouldn’t be the primary target of people’s ire). That makes some sense to me. But again, it would be helpful if critics of an activist strategy could point to alternative strategies, and explain how the alternatives are grounded in a better understanding of the actual politics and economics of the situation. —CS

]]> By: Clarence Ewing http://dollarsandsense.org/blog/2010/02/move-your-money-doug-henwood.html/comment-page-1#comment-476 Clarence Ewing Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:14:54 +0000 http://dandsblog.wordpress.com/2010/02/02/move-your-money-doug-henwood#comment-476 I agree with the previous post. Every time I hear a criticism of the Move Your Money movement, it's always using some technical jargon and finance philosophical mumbo-jumbo to conclude "Moving your money doesn't matter, there's nothing you can do." I agree with the previous post. Every time I hear a criticism of the Move Your Money movement, it’s always using some technical jargon and finance philosophical mumbo-jumbo to conclude “Moving your money doesn’t matter, there’s nothing you can do.”

]]> By: Anonymous http://dollarsandsense.org/blog/2010/02/move-your-money-doug-henwood.html/comment-page-1#comment-477 Anonymous Wed, 03 Feb 2010 02:38:02 +0000 http://dandsblog.wordpress.com/2010/02/02/move-your-money-doug-henwood#comment-477 So what are we saying, the big banks have us by the short ones and there's nothing at all we can do about it? How inspirational. Maybe it's time to promote alternative institutions for depositors who want some of their money to stay in the community. There are community loan funds out there already. So what are we saying, the big banks have us by the short ones and there’s nothing at all we can do about it? How inspirational. Maybe it’s time to promote alternative institutions for depositors who want some of their money to stay in the community. There are community loan funds out there already.

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