Solution-Public Banks
Community Wealth. Community Banks
Big banks have been damaging Maryland communities for centuries. More revenue and reinvestment won't do much good if finance capital continues to drain, cheat, and bet against cities, schools, neighborhoods and people. Gov. Wes Moore's answer was to sign the Access to Banking Act, but the real "access" protected by that law is big banks' access to individual and community wealth--to extract it from us through interest rates and risky Wall Street speculation, and to undermine communities through redlining.
Maryland needs a state-owned public bank, and will also benefit from municipally-owned banks. Public banks serve as depositories for state or local funds, which can then be leveraged to support community needs. Baltimore's Abell Foundation, the Northeast-Midwest Institute, and the Maryland Center on Economic Policy have all concluded that public banking will improve economic equity, access to capital, improvements in infrastructure and public services. Although bills to study the feasibility of a public bank have been introduced and even initially passed in Annapolis, nothing has made it to the governor's desk. When I am governor, that will change.