Group Launches Protests Against Banks

Banking Crisis Leads To Protest Called For By New Group

Apr 11, 2009
Jon Pike

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The cyber-activist group, A New Way Forward called for demonstrations this weekend to launch a plan to solve the current bank crisis.

The frustration with America’s current economic condition is spawning protests on both the right and the left. People who want disagree with the Obama budget and tax plans plan on holding what they call “Tax Day Tea Parties” on April 15th.

This weekend, however, people on the left, organized a group called, “A New Way Forward” put together a three-point manifesto on what should be done with America’s banks to help the country get out of the recession and onto a firm economic footing.

One of the chief organizers of the group is 29-year old Tiffiny Cheng, who at age 29, is already a veteran cyber-protester. She and her friends have been involved in such diverse projects as a site to track federal legislation and music activism. She says she was inspired by an interview on the TV show, Bill Moyers’ Journal, with a former International Monetary Fund banker Simon Johnson to put together this group’s manifesto.

A New Way Forward's main contention is that the banks have become tooo big and have started distorting the economy and the political process.

The Three-Point Manifesto of A New Way Forward

The website for the group puts forward three things that they say must be done to banks. The steps that this group advocates are: Nationalize, Reorganize and Decentralize. The three steps will be explained below:

Nationalize – A New Way Forward advocates that insolvent banks must be subject to intervention from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The group says that the banks should not be given tax payer money without significant ties attached to it.
Reorganize – The group advocates that the current CEOs of the banking corporations need to go and that they board members and CEOs should not receive bonuses, if the banks are receiving taxpayer money.
Decentralize – This group believes that the country needs to get rid of banks that are “too big to fail.” The group advocates that banking groups should be broken up and reintroduced to the private market with significant regulatory controls.

The protests were to be held in several American cities.