PCCC YEAR END ROUNDUP from BOLDPROGRESSIVES.ORG 30DEZ11

THIS is why I support the PCCC and in this coming year of economic and electoral uncertainty I hope you will consider becoming a supporter too!

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Chip in $3 to continue our effective activism in 2012.

It's been a great year. The Nation magazine just called our Draft Elizabeth Warren effort the "Most Valuable Campaign of 2011."
Before the new year begins, we wanted to send you an insider peek at our accomplishments together. (See list below.) Every day, over 850,000 of us fought hard for our progressive values -- and it shows.
Most importantly, we wanted to say thank you. Thank you for caring so deeply about our country. Thank you for taking action. And thanks for being a bold progressive!
-- The PCCC Team (Stephanie, Adam, Michael, Forrest, Keauna, Amanda, Jason, Drew, Kristiane, Conor, Jordan, Robyn, Neil, Matt, Ethan, Dheeraj, Kari, Jeff, Taylor, Andrew, Zach, Karen, TJ, Jake, and DeVeria)

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(Appreciate this year's activism? Chip in $3 to continue our effective activism in 2012.)

Draft Warren house party.

1) Draft Elizabeth Warren. In 2010, we led the successful grassroots effort to have Elizabeth Warren set up the new consumer protection agency.
This year, when she wasn't appointed to permanently lead it, we launched the Draft Elizabeth Warren for Senate campaign and raised over $100,000 for Warren before she even jumped into the race. Matt from our team worked with hundreds of volunteers across Massachusetts to hold Draft Elizabeth Warren house parties, showing her large grassroots support. And it worked! Elizabeth Warren is now seven points ahead of Scott Brown -- and thousands of members like you have donated a whopping $600,000 to her campaign!
2) Wisconsin recall victories: When Gov. Scott Walker attacked workers, we had to get involved. Members like you made over 380,000 calls to Wisconsin voters during the recall elections and worked 1,743 local volunteer shifts. With our friends at Democracy for America, we made 5 powerful TV ads that aired over 18,000 times -- plus radio ads, online ads, and robo-calls. Keauna from our team moved to Madison to assist local activists while the rest of us worked with volunteers across the nation. And we won! Together, we recalled two Republican senators and took away Gov. Walker's working majority in the Senate.
(Appreciate this effective activism? Chip in $3 to continue our national program in 2012.)
3) Awesome House candidates. Elizabeth Warren will need allies in Congress. We've been busy finding, vetting, and endorsing wonderful progressive candidates around the country, particularly those in competitive primaries for open seats. So far we've endorsed Eric Griego (NM-01), Annie Kuster (NH-02), Chris Donovan (CT-05) and Ilya Sheyman (IL-10), with more to come.  

When making endorsements, we pick candidates who are bold progressives with a competent campaign and a plan to win. Stephanie and Adam interview each candidate under consideration. Jason and Kari from our team help endorsed candidates find online directors and finance directors. In October, we sponsored a full-day media training for progressive candidates -- followed by a joint petition delivery to John Boehner's office the next day, which made national news. So far, members like you have donated $175,000 to our 4 endorsed House candidates!

One of the nation's first "Move Your Money" events!

4) Banxodus! We worked with Rep. Brad Miller (D-NC) on a bill making it easier to move your money from big Wall Street banks. Meanwhile, Kristiane from our team organized one of the first "Move Your Money" events in the nation, and every local TV station in Portland, Oregon showed up!
But we realized there was another obstacle to moving your money -- it's hard to find a good bank. So Ethan and Michael from our tech team built Banxodus.org, a great tool to help folks find good local banks. So far, 162,242 people have used Banxodus to search for a new bank in their area.
5) Saving Medicare. When Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) proposed ending Medicare, we worked with Ryan's Democratic opponent, Rob Zerban, to deliver over 65,000 signatures to Ryan's campaign office, creating local media pressure on Ryan. We also held other House Republicans accountable when they voted for Ryan’s plan. We launched a hard-hitting TV ad against Rep. Charlie Bass (R-NH). Bass now faces huge disapproval numbers and a strong election challenge from progressive favorite Annie Kuster.

Delivering 50,000 notes directly to Sen. Reid.

6) Saving Social Security. When Lindsey Graham (R-SC) called for cuts to Social Security benefits, we launched a powerful TV ad featuring one of his constituents holding him accountable. When Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) passionately defended Social Security, we rewarded him with over 50,000 thank you notes -- and two of our retired members from Nevada flew to Washington to personally present them! Sen. Reid promised at our joint press conference to keep Social Security benefits "off the table" -- and he's stuck to his word.
7) Holding Democrats accountable. When the New York Times reported that President Obama put Social Security and Medicare benefit cuts on the table in negotiations, we needed grassroots pressure. Over 200,000 members pledged not to donate or volunteer for any Democratic politician who joined Republicans in cutting these vital benefits. Chicago-area members, including our press secretary Neil, personally delivered these pledges to Obama's headquarters.

The Associated Press, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, and others covered the event. MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell called us the “most effective progressive objectors” to benefit cuts and said our grassroots pressure was "actually helping the president's negotiating position" against Republicans. And we won! Social Security and Medicare benefits were not cut.
8) Fighting Wall Street immunity. Wall Street banks are pushing for a deal with the Department of Justice and state Attorneys General that would give the banks immunity -- for crimes that haven't even been investigated yet! So far, 85,000 members like you have become "citizen signers" of Rep. Tammy Baldwin's (D-WI) resolution opposing this deal. Conor and Jordan from our team worked the halls of Congress while thousands of us made phone calls. Together, these efforts increased Baldwin's co-sponsors from 27 to 70.
Meanwhile, Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway announced his opposition to the deal on our email list! And working with our partners at CREDO Action, we delivered petitions to Attorney General Kamala Harris in California. The next day, she announced she would oppose the deal. Momentum!

9) Saving the Internet! Congress is considering a bill that would end the Internet as we know it -- giving the government and private corporations the ability to take down websites without due process. This is a threat to free speech and innovation. We sponsored a joint petition with Reddit and over 100,000 people took action. Last week, a massive grassroots outpouring scuttled a planned vote and killed this proposal for the year. (It will be back next year -- and we'll keep fighting.)
10) PCCC growth: Holy cow, we've grown! This year, we hired a Chief of Staff (Amanda), three new members of our technology team (Ethan, Dheeraj, TJ), a new press team (Neil, Matt), new grassroots organizers (Kristiane, Jake), a new team of Capitol Hill organizers (Conor, Jordan, Robyn), and some great fellows! Plus, Michael (our very first employee!) took on a new role as Chief Information Officer, overseeing projects like Banxodus.org and other fun stuff coming in 2012!
We keep overhead costs incredibly low so member donations are used for organizing. We work out of our homes or coffee shops. When we travel, we ask local members for housing to reduce costs. (Thank you to all our wonderful hosts!)
In 2012, there are elections to win, legislation to pass, and more people to organize -- please consider chipping in $3 to continue our effective activism.

Proof the big banks are terrified & Ten stories of people moving their money, despite bank efforts to stop them 11NOV11

FROM The Daily Kos, this shows just how greedy and a little scared they are. Keep the movement going and MOVE YOUR MONEY!!!!!!

"Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right."
- 2 Thessalonians 3:13
"No one can serve two masters. If you try, you will wind up loving the first master and hating the second, or vice versa. People try to serve both God and money— but you can’t. You must choose one or the other."
- Matthew 6:24

	Since September 29, at least 700,000 Americans have moved their money out of big banks and into credit unions. The big banks are so freaked out by what's happening that some have locked their doors and even called the police on customers who tried to close their accounts. Click here for ten amazing stories about big banks desperately trying to stop customers from closing their accounts. Please share these stories with a friend, too. Everyone needs to know we have the big banks on the run. Keep fighting, Markos Moulitsas Founder, Daily Kos

Trust me, it feels awesome!

Banks are shrugging off the (at least) 700,000 accounts they've lost the last six weeks and claim they don't want your business:

[T]he banks are going to be better off because they are getting rid of their least-profitable or not profitable clients. It helps them stem this tsunami of cash that’s been flowing in that they don’t know what to do with.

But not only do they relentlessly advertise for new business on billboards, TV, direct mail and other places, but they fight tooth and nail to prevent people from closing their accounts. The Daily Kos community and others have chronicled many such efforts, so follow me below the fold for ten of these awesome stories.

1. "He has a right to speak," said the cop to the banker When Daily Kos community member marvinborg was distributing flyers outside of local Chase and Bank of America branches encouraging customers to move their money to credit unions, one of the managers called the police on him. When they arrived, the police promptly told the manager off:
   

   "He has the right to speak and the right to hand out flyers. Unless he blocks you or causes a disturbance, he has the right to be here - please don't call the police again if he is not bothering you. If you don't like free speech you should move to another country."

2. "You can't be a customer and a protester at the same time." At a Bank of America branch in Santa Cruz, the manager locked two customers inside a branch as they were trying to close their accounts, and then called the police on them. Supposedly, this was because they were wearing signs. When the police showed up, they didn't arrest anyone, and were just as baffled as the customers:
   
   
   
3. "They're arresting everyone?" At a Citibank in New York City, a customer actually was forcibly arrested when she tried to enter the bank to close her account:
   
   
   
4. "Let them in!" At a Bank of America in St. Louis, security refused to allow customers who wanted to close their accounts inside:
   
   
   
5. The bank said "You'll be back." Even when banks don't call the police, they can give customers sound like jilted boyfriends:
   

   At Wells Fargo, my sister walked up to the teller and politely asked to close her account. The teller said, “No problem.” She pulled up her account and saw the balance and told her that due to the amount she had to speak with the branch manager. The branch manager came out. He was probably 30 years old and was very arrogant. He asked my sister why she wanted to close her account and my sister told him she thought Wells Fargo was part of the problem with the economy. He went thru some talking points about why she shouldn’t move her money, but my sister didn’t back down. When he asked her where she was going she told him that she would be banking at the North Carolina State Employees Credit Union. She isn’t a state employee, but anyone can join if you are related to a state employee. It turns out her husband is. Anyway, the bankster told her “You’ll be back. Credit unions can’t provide the services you need.” We’ll see about that. She withdrew over $200k from Wells Fargo. [Emphasis added]

6. "Management is nervous" In the midst of begging customers not to leave, every once in a while banks can let it slip just how scared they are:
   

   The manager was pleasant enough and very direct. After introducing herself she flat out asked "What can we do to change your mind?" "We don't want to see you go" she emphasized. This opened a door for me to further explain my decision to leave the bank and why I was doing it. Amazingly, it did not fall on deaf ears. She indicated that understood where I was coming from and actually showed genuine surprise at some of the facts I provided her about the less than consumer friendly policies and machinations of her employer. She did make some feeble counter-arguments and repeatedly asked me if I would change my mind (with a hint of desperation!). I stood firm and by the end of our conversation she asked if I would be willing to put it all in writing so she could send it up the chain. She shared that management is nervous, they are seeing money leaking out of the bank and realize that they have made mistakes.  She even hinted that there has been high-level discussion on reversing the new fess since there has been so much consumer push-back. [Emphasis added]

   The fees were reversed soon after this was posted.
   
7. They're offering cash for customers to open up accounts It's silly to argue that they don't want cash deposits, yet they're offering cold, hard cash for those who will, well, deposit cash.
   

   There’s a lot of fine print involved, but basically, they will pay me $200 to move my checking account to them provided that: 1)    I make one bill payment through the account each month
   2)    The account has a balance of $10,000 as of 1/20/2012
   3)    I wait 'till April for the $200 (giving me about 4% interest on my $10k)
   4)    I don’t close my credit card account
   5)    I don’t violate of any of their nit-picky procedures in the fine print
   6)    They don’t decide to simply screw me and not pay up: “Bank of America may change or terminate this offer before this date without notice…”
   Well! I had been told that banks didn’t need deposits. I guess that’s not true, otherwise why would they be running (cough, cough) to sign me up – and offering cold hard cash as well?

8. They're pretending it's no big deal You know there's something happening when they're circulating talking points.
   

   In a truly random set of circumstances I found myself stopping by three separate Wells Fargo locations yesterday [...] [Branch 1:] While we were making small talk, I casually asked, “So, how many people closed out accounts this weekend?”
   The cashier said, “Oh it was just two or three people.  Not many at all.” [...]
   [Wells Fargo embedded in Whole Foods:] While chatting it up, I asked, “So, how many people closed out their accounts here on Saturday? “
   The Teller said, “Just two or three people closed their accounts.  Only two said it was because of Bank Transfer Day.” [...]
   [Branch 2:] I was talking to Mr. Branch Manager2 while I was getting the passport, I casually said, “So, how many people closed their accounts on Saturday?”
   Mr. Branch Manager2 said, “Oh, it was just 2 or 3 people.  They had very small amounts of money with us.” [...]
   Was there a corporate wide memo with talking points?  I don’t have any proof but it does make me wonder how only “…2 or 3 people” closed their accounts at three different Wells Fargo…

9. They'll fight tooth and nail for empty accounts It doesn't even matter if a checking account is in use. They'll do everything possible to keep people from closing them.
   

   I didn't even know he was talking with BoA, but when he had repeated the entire chain of circumstances for the fourth or fifth time, to the same person, getting louder each time, I knew something was definitely screwy. I mean, this is an account that had never held any actual balance. Had never had any checks written. For years. And never would. Why the hell would a bank want to keep it open?
   Eventually my schedule caught up with me and I had to leave, with Ed still bellowing the same story into the phone over and over. I was able to come back an hour or so later, after he was finally off the phone, and asked if that happened to be BoA.
   Well, yes, of course it was.

10. Offering to refund obnoxious fees ... after the fact. They wouldn't be in this mess if they didn't try to bleed people in the first place.
    

    "Is everything OK with your account and service?" Well, yes, except for the fact that I'm charged ten dollars a month for the privilege of having a checking account here. (We used to have free checking, but Chase implemented the fee about a year ago if our balance went below $1500.  Man, we were lazy and complacent, but not today!)
    "Let me see, yes, it seems you paid a fee... 3 times?  So only $30."
    Yes, only $30... but it's the principle.  It's the greed that is annoying.
    "Well, you've been with us for many years, here is what I can do.  I can temporarily... uh, permanently waive any future fees.  We really value our relationship with you and want to keep you as a customer."
    It seems like if Chase had called me before I came down here to close my account and made that offer that it would seem genuine, but not only after I'm already here to close my account.  Which I would like to do.
    "Well, we could also refund those fees.  We would really like to retain your business."
    I'm going to be opening up an account with a local credit union.

And how do the banks respond? By lashing out angrily at its customers.

Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan says the public needs to start thinking before they criticize his company.

People have given it plenty of thought. That's why hundreds of thousands are moving their money when really, doing so is a pain in the ass—you've got to deal with uncleared checks, automatic bill pays and recurring payments, direct deposits and old habits (whether it's navigating your banks online site, or knowing where the branches and ATMs are located).
Wall Street is out at least $60 billion and counting, and we can inflict more pain. Let's truly make Brian Moynihan and his CEO buddies squeal. Please share this post with your friends, and if you have not already done so, Move Your Money.

FINALLY...you can find a good-guy bank with BANXODUS

HERE is a tool to help you find a good guy bank if you are interested in moving your money, from the good people at BoldProgressives..... 
"No one can serve two masters. If you try, you will wind up loving the first master and hating the second, or vice versa. People try to serve both God and money— but you can’t. You must choose one or the other."
- Matthew 6:24

"Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right."
- 2 Thessalonians 3:13
 

Click here to use our new Banxodus tool to find a good-guy bank near you -- or share intel about local banks with others.
And share this groundbreaking new online tool on Facebook by clicking here. And pass this email to others!
The New York Times reports:

"A site going online...aims to use crowdsourcing to provide more detailed information about both credit unions and community banks. Banxodus, an effort by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, says it has more than 7,500 institutions in its database, which was created with the help of a few thousand volunteer researchers."

Check out Banxodus today! And spread the word on Facebook!
-- Michael Snook, PCCC Chief Information Officer & Ethan Jucovy, Web Applications Developer

For Bank Of America, Debit Fees Extend To Unemployment Benefits 10NOV11

IF anyone still doubts bank of america is one of the most evil institutions in this country read this from Janell Ross of HuffPost....AND MOVE YOUR MONEY out of bank of america, u.s. bank, wells fargo and jp morgan chase!!!!! A link follows this article for those interested in moving their money.....
CORDOVA, S.C.-- Shawana Busby does not seem like the sort of customer who would be at the center of a major bank's business plan. Out of work for much of the last three years, she depends upon a $264-a-week unemployment check from the state of South Carolina. But the state has contracted with Bank of America to administer its unemployment benefits, and Busby has frequently found herself incurring bank fees to get her money.
To withdraw her benefits, Busby, 33, uses a Bank of America prepaid debit card on which the state deposits her funds. She could visit a Bank of America ATM free of charge. But this small community in the state's rural center, her hometown, does not have a Bank of America branch. Neither do the surrounding towns where she drops off her kids at school and attends church.
She could drive north to Columbia, the state capital, and use a Bank of America ATM there. But that entails a 50 mile drive, cutting into her gas budget. So Busby visits the ATMs in her area and begrudgingly accepts the fees, which reach as high as five dollars per transaction. She estimates that she has paid at least $350 in fees to tap her unemployment benefits.

"It really boggles my mind," she said. "This bank is taking little bits of money out of thousands of pockets, including mine."

Bank of America recently aborted plans to charge ordinary banking customers $5 a month to use their debit cards in the face of national outrage. But the bank has quietly continued to mine another source of fees: jobless people who depend upon the bank's prepaid debit cards to tap their benefits. Bank of America and other financial firms -- including U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo and JP Morgan Chase -- have secured contracts to provide access to public benefits in 41 states. These contracts typically allow banks to collect unlimited fees from merchants and consumers.
In short, the same banks whose speculation delivered a financial crisis that has destroyed millions of jobs have figured out how to turn widespread unemployment into a profit center: The larger the number of people who are out of work and dependent upon the state for sustenance, the greater the potential gains through administering their benefits.
"It's absolutely ridiculous," said Sue Berkowitz, director of the South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center, a Columbia nonprofit that represents low-income people facing foreclosure, food insecurity and other problems. "It should not cost you any more to use a debit card than if they had issued you a check."
For the state, handing Bank of America responsibility for unemployment benefits secured cost savings, said Berkowitz, but they have come at vulnerable people's expense.
"When it comes to ordinary people getting the benefits they have earned, the benefits they need, they don't seem to spend a lot of time worrying," she said.

Bank of America asserts that its prepaid debit cards are a good deal for everyone -- from state taxpayers to people drawing unemployment benefits.
"We have provided prepaid card programs to government agencies for many years," said Jefferson George, a Bank of America spokesman based at the company's Charlotte headquarters. "Clients value the cost savings and increased efficiency and individuals appreciate the ability to receive their benefits payments more quickly and securely."
South Carolina officials say their state's current arrangement with Bank of America, launched in July 2010, has proven a good value for taxpayers. The South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce, which oversees unemployment benefits, expects to save as much $5 million in check printing and mailing costs annually through its contract with Bank of America, said an agency spokeswoman, Adrienne Fairwell.
She said the state was also attracted to the debit cards as a means of helping jobless people who do not have bank accounts avoid the fees they must pay to cash checks. Roughly one tenth of all South Carolina households -- about 182,000 families -- did not have a bank account as of last fall, according to a recent Pew Research Center report.
But some banking experts say the relevant cost savings are accruing to the banks themselves. New federal regulations cap what banks can collect from merchants when consumers swipe ordinary debit cards at store cash registers. The new swipe fee limits will cut Bank of America's revenues by $2 billion this year, according to Richard Bove, an analyst who follows Bank of America for Connecticut-based brokerage and research service Rochdale Securities.
"Most banks are aiming to recoup 30 to 50 percent through other methods," which include prepaid card fees, said Nancy Bush, an analyst with NAB Research, LLC, a a New Jersey-based investment consulting company, who monitors Bank of America.
Those limits do not apply to most prepaid debit cards, making them particularly attractive to banks, say experts. Prepaid cards are still a small business for banks, but the sector is quickly growing, experts say.
South Carolina now distributes half of all unemployment benefits using Bank of America prepaid debit cards, according to the state department of employment and workforce, with most of the other half delivered through direct deposit.
Neither the state nor Bank of America would disclose the details of their contractual arrangement. A bank spokesman termed the deal "confidential." When The Huffington Post asked the state for for the details of the contract, the spokeswoman required the submission of a formal Freedom of Information Act request. Yet one week after that request was lodged, the state has not provided the contract terms.
But The Herald, a Rock Hill, S.C. newspaper, reported in 2009 that South Carolina pays the bank a 3 cent fee for each transfer it facilitates on a prepaid debit card. The bank collects the same fees from the state for handling direct deposit of unemployment benefits, a state spokesperson said.
Banking experts say the real money lies in the fees the bank collects for a range of services. When the state first contracted with Bank of America, the list of potential fees the bank was allowed to collect included a $1.50 charge when a customer visited a bank ATM or teller more than once per week, a $1.50 charge for use of an out-of-network ATM, a $1.50 charge for speaking to a customer service operator more than once per month, and 50 cents for entering the wrong PIN number at an ATM more than four times or requesting more funds from an ATM than remained on the card.
In May, the National Consumer Law Center named Bank of America prepaid debit cards issued to unemployed people in California and New Jersey the best in the nation. But unemployed card holders in those states don't face the same list of potential fees that exist in South Carolina. One example: California and New Jersey's contracts allow card users to conduct a limited number of free transactions at other banks' ATMs.
After learning about the options that Bank of America gave people using its prepaid cards in other states, South Carolina asked the bank for changes, Fairwell said. In July, unemployed individuals gained unlimited free withdrawals at Bank of America ATMs and one free withdrawal per week at a bank teller anywhere the VISA logo is displayed.
But some fees remain. Bank of America charges prepaid debit card holders in South Carolina $1.50 to visit an out of network ATM. Bank of America also levies a 50 cent fee when a customer uses an ATM to try to withdraw more money than they have in their account more than once in a single week.
"It's not what we would like to see," said Lauren Saunders, managing attorney at the National Consumer Law Center. "It is not as if the bank can legitimately argue it costs them something not to let someone take money out of an ATM."
The state asserts that people who are prudent, timing their withdrawals while adhering to the limits, can secure all of their funds without charge.
"With careful use, South Carolina cardholders can avoid paying any fees," said Fairwell.

But people who rely on such cards to collect their benefits have a difficult time hewing to polite language when they hear such characterizations.

"That's bullshit," said Sandra Gortman, 55, a Columbia resident who says she incurred some $10 in fees within the first weeks of using her card. "Excuse me. But, really, there is no way given the way you have to live when you have very, very little money and copious amounts of stress, to avoid paying fees."

In 2008, Gortman, a long-time bill collector, temporarily left her law firm job to work for the Obama campaign. When the campaign ended the law firm could not afford to keep her on staff, so she started searching for work. In January 2009, she enrolled in the state's unemployment benefits program. At first, her benefits were direct deposited to her Bank of America checking account.
In August 2010, unemployment officials summoned Gortman for a benefits review during which she says she was strongly encouraged to sign up for a prepaid debit card. Gortman resisted. Fearful that the agency would delay her benefits if she did not submit, she says, Gortman signed the form. A few weeks later the card and a brochure came in the mail. The potential fees were disclosed in the fine print, she says, but she initially missed them.
The first week she had the card, Gortman used it to purchase $25 worth of gas at a Columbia gas station. The station held $75 as a deposit while she filled up, and did not refund the balance -- $50 -- until three days later. She says she discovered the charge later when she checked her balance. When Gortman noticed this additional charge, she called Bank of America's automated customer service twice seeking explanation, incurring a $1.50 charge for the second call, she says. When the automated system failed to explain the missing money, Gortman spoke to an operator, incurring an additional 50 cent fee, she said. In July, the bank eliminated customer service fees.
"When you are living on $325 in unemployment benefits a week, believe me, you need and notice every penny," said Gortman. "So I called, I know one week, three or four times before I realized those calls were costing me money. I was, well let's just say, utterly outraged."
In the town of Cordova, where traffic lights are outnumbered by pickup trucks, Busby and her family have been largely dependent on unemployment benefits since June of 2008, when her husband was laid off from a job at a tractor company. The following month, she lost her own job teaching welfare recipients life skills. When their weekly unemployment checks arrived in the mail, she drove north to Columbia or west to Orangeburg, some 35 miles away, to deposit them in their checking account.
The following year, her husband found a full-time factory job, and she secured a temporary position with the Census. But when her job ended in May 2010, Busby went back to the unemployment office to sign up for benefits anew. She received a few checks, and then the state sent her a debit card, though says she has no recollection of applying for one.
Even now that she is cognizant of the fees, she is afraid to switch to direct deposit, fearing a resulting gap in her weekly benefits. Her family's finances are so tight, she says, that any delay puts them behind on the bills.
"There is always, something due -- a light bill that has to be paid, car insurance, the phone," she said. "I get my benefits and that's when we buy food, that very day. There's just a very delicate balance at our house. Nothing, I mean nothing, can go wrong.

Click here to use our new Banxodus tool to find a good-guy bank near you -- or share intel about local banks with others.
And share this groundbreaking new online tool on Facebook by clicking here. And pass this email to others!
The New York Times reports:

"A site going online...aims to use crowdsourcing to provide more detailed information about both credit unions and community banks. Banxodus, an effort by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, says it has more than 7,500 institutions in its database, which was created with the help of a few thousand volunteer researchers."

Check out Banxodus today! And spread the word on Facebook!
-- Michael Snook, PCCC Chief Information Officer & Ethan Jucovy, Web Applications Developer