Tackling California’s Budget Crisis: Raise Taxes, Cut Programs, or Form a Bank?

Posted on May 8, 2024 by Ellen Brown

In 2022, the state of California celebrated a record budget surplus of $97.5 billion. Two years later, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office, this surplus has plummeted to a record budget deficit of $73 billion. Balancing the budget will be challenging. Unlike the federal government, the state cannot just drive up debt and roll it over year after year. The California Balanced Budget Act, passed in 2004, requires the state legislature to pass a balanced budget every year. 

The usual solutions are to cut programs or raise taxes, but both approaches are facing an uphill battle. Raising taxes would require a two-thirds vote of the legislature, which would be very challenging, and worthy public programs are in danger of getting axed, including homelessness prevention and funding for low-income housing. 

A third possibility might be to increase the income tax base and state income by stimulating the economy with a state-owned depository bank. The state-owned Bank of North Dakota, which has raised record profits for its state, is a stellar example. In a review of states with the healthiest budgets based on data from the PEW Charitable Trusts, U.S. News & World Report puts North Dakota at No. 1 in Budget Balancing and #1 in Short-term Fiscal Stability.    

California has an Infrastructure and Development Bank, which is already capitalized and has an established track record of prudent and productive lending, but it is not a depository bank and its reach is small. Transforming it into a depository bank would be fairly uncomplicated and could substantially increase its reach. 

But first a look at what happened to the state’s copious revenues.

Saga of a Budget Crisis

California’s record surplus was largely due to tax windfalls and to $43.5 billion received in American Rescue Plan money during the COVID crisis. Anticipating that these inflows would continue, the governor and legislature enacted a record budget for 2024-25 of nearly $300 billion, the largest of any state. Much of the surplus was committed to expanding an array of social and educational services, including extending universal health care coverage to undocumented immigrants. When taxes came in, the tally showed a revenue shortfall of $26 billion.  

Tech industry woes were a major contributor. The top 1% of earners pay nearly half of California’s  income taxes, and 20% of its GDP comes from the tech industry. The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, which financed startups and attracted venture capital, speeded the sector’s decline. Massive Silicon Valley layoffs occurred and tech stock lost value, cutting capital gains taxes. And there has been a notable exodus from the state not just among the ultra-wealthy but by businesses, due to the combination of high taxes, stringent regulations, and elevated costs for labor, utilities, and energy.  

Another contributor to the budget deficit were huge payouts for unemployment benefits, which skyrocketed during the COVID lockdown and business shutdowns. The state’s unemployment fund was exhausted, requiring a loan from the federal government. Twenty-one billion dollars remains to be repaid, and the interest rate on the debt has gone up. To meet the unemployment burden, California legislators are considering quintupling unemployment taxes and nearly doubling benefits, but the result could be more layoffs and more businesses leaving the state.

Plagued by Homelessness and Unemployment

Meanwhile, the wealth divide in California is enormous, with the highest unemployment rate and homeless rate in the country. This is despite $24 billion being spent on the unhoused over the last five years. Thirty percent of the nation’s homeless live in California, and nearly nine million Californians are on the brink of being homeless. Housing is too expensive for low-wage earners and there is a lack of available low-cost housing. But well-meaning legislation to help low-wage earners has had unintended consequences. 

As of April 1, the minimum wage for fast food restaurant workers was raised by 25% to $20 an hour triggered by a strike by their union. But the move has negatively impacted many of the workers. Fast food restaurant owners operate on thin profit margins; and to cover these new costs, they have had to reduce workers’ hours, raise customer prices, engage in massive worker layoffs, move out of state, or close their businesses altogether. Almost 10,000 fast food jobs have been lost in California just since the $20 minimum wage law was signed. 

As a result of these and other efforts to help low-wage earners, many vulnerable workers are suddenly finding or will find themselves out of a job.

Compare North Dakota

At the other end of the employment spectrum is North Dakota, which has the lowest unemployment rate in the country. As noted above, in a review of states with the healthiest budgets, U.S. News & World Report puts it at No. 1 in Budget Balancing and #1 in Short-term Fiscal Stability.  North Dakota’s budget for 2024-25 includes cuts in individual income taxes, including eliminating the state individual income tax for 60% of the population and a reduction in that tax for the other 40%. The result is projected to be a 1.5% flat rate income tax, the lowest in the nation. Again compare that to California, where the top state income tax is 14.4%, higher even than other states known for their tax burdens. 

North Dakota was the only state to fully escape the 2008-09 credit crisis, never slipping into the red. When the state did go over budget in 2001-02 due to the dot-com bust, the Bank of North Dakota (BND), the nation’s only state-owned bank, acted as a rainy day fund. To make up the budget shortfall, the bank declared an extra dividend for its state owner, and the next year the budget was back on track. 

The BND is more profitable than some of the largest Wall Street banks. Its latest Annual Report (for 2022) states that it had a record net income of $191.2 million that year, up $47 million from 2021. Its asset size also set a record, at $10.2 billion. The return on investment was a healthy 19%. As the BND’s principal depositor, the state must keep its funds in the bank by law, thus protecting the bank from a run on its deposits. The Standard & Poor’s credit rating for the BND is A+/stable. The S&P report states, “BND has one of the highest risk-adjusted capital (RAC) ratios for rated U.S. banks.” 

BND’s profitability has helped strengthen community banks and credit unions in North Dakota by making loans in partnership rather than in competition with them. In the Great Recession, it also bought loans from stressed local banks to prevent bank failures and keep the economy running smoothly. BND operates with very low overhead and stresses productive and local lending rather than lending to buy existing assets, the sort of speculative lending that leads to bubbles and busts. 

The State’s Deposits Are Safer in Its Own Bank

The Bank of North Dakota was established in 1919 by a populist party of farmers who felt their farms were being foreclosed on unfairly by out-of-state bankers. They succeeded in bringing their state revenues back into their own bank, serving their own communities. 

North Dakota’s revenues are safer in its own bank than in the largest Wall Street banks, which “insure” their capital with interconnected derivatives backed by rehypothecated collateral. The Financial Stability Board has declared that practice to be risky, “as highlighted during the 2007-09 global financial crisis.” The five largest Wall Street depository banks hold $223 trillion in derivatives, or 83 percent of all the derivatives at 4,600 banks; and they have a combined half trillion dollars in commercial real estate loans, also very risky in the current financial environment. 

Today most government funds are deposited in these SIFIs (Systemically Important Financial Institutions), putting the deposits at risk. Under the Dodd Frank Act of 2010, a SIFI that goes bankrupt will not be bailed out by the government but will be recapitalized by “bail ins” – confiscating the funds of the bank’s creditors, including “secured” depositors such as state and local governments. Under the Bankruptcy Act of 2005, derivative and repo claims have seniority and could easily wipe out all of the capital of a SIFI. The details are complicated, but the threat is real and imminent. See my earlier articles here and here, David Rodgers Webb’s The Great Taking, and Chris Martenson’s excellent series drilling down into the obscure legalese of the enabling legislation, concluding here.    

Even if the SIFIs remain solvent, they are not using state deposits and investments for the benefit of the people; and often they are betting against us. The BND, by contrast, is mandated to use its revenues for the benefit of the North Dakota public.  

California Could Replicate the BND Model with Its Infrastructure and Development Bank

California already has an Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (I-Bank), but it is not a true depository bank able to take deposits and leverage its capital. According to its website: 

IBank was created in 1994 to finance public infrastructure and private development that promote a healthy climate for jobs, contribute to a strong economy, and improve the quality of life in California communities. IBank is located within the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development and is governed by a five-member Board of Directors. IBank has broad authority to issue tax-exempt and taxable revenue bonds, provide financing to public agencies, provide credit enhancements, acquire or lease facilities, leverage state and federal funds and provide loan guarantees and other credit enhancements to small businesses. 

Its Infrastructure State Revolving Fund (ISRF) Program provides loans only to public entities (municipalities, counties, Joint Power Authorities, pension funds), but it also has a Small Business Financing Center (SBFC) that provides loan guarantees through independent agencies for businesses and farms having trouble accessing loans, among other outreach services. The ISRF is a revolving fund, limited to lending its base capital. It engages to some extent in leverage, but it’s the riskier version called “rehypothecation” (relending of existing collateral). As explained by Stan I-Bank’s first Executive Director Stan Hazelroth in a 2013 article: 

When you loan $100 to an electric utility, say, to build new infrastructure, they take money from ratepayers and pay that loan back over time. These payments, based on the history of utility ratepayers over decades, are very reliable—so reliable, in fact, that bond buyers will loan money secured by the promise of those ratepayers to pay the utilities back over time. 

The utility with the right to be paid back $100 can pledge those aggregate payments and secure an additional loan of, say, $80. When that loan begins to be paid back, bond buyers will loan you another, say, $60, which can also be loaned out. With just $100 in cash, in other words, you can loan out $240.

Thus a contract becomes a security, which can act as collateral for another loan and another for the lender. But reuse of the same asset for multiple loans can go only so far. Chartered at a 10% capital requirement, depository banks can issue up to ten times their capital in loans. (In 2020 the Fed lifted the capital requirement altogether, but 10% is still considered a prudent ratio.) 

Banks do need to back withdrawals with reserves, which they acquire from their incoming deposits or by borrowing from other banks or the Federal Reserve; but the state has plenty of deposits to serve that function. Any bank in which the state deposits its revenues will back its loans with those deposits, and the I-Bank’s loans are actually safer and better for the public interest than those of the big Wall Street banks. If the I-Bank were to become the state’s banker and its reserve account were overdrawn, it would have the same protections afforded by the Federal Reserve system to all chartered banks: it could borrow reserves from other banks, the repo market, or the Fed itself. The BND is not a member of the Federal Reserve but has a master account with it, allowing the bank to transfer funds with other banks in the system and to act as a “mini- Fed” for the state, providing correspondent banking services to North Dakota’s many community banks.

One thing California and North Dakota have in common is that they are both big agricultural states. The BND helps its farmers with a variety of low-interest loans. Although most of its loans are in collaboration with local banks, two loans it makes directly are the Beginning Farmer Real Estate Loan and Established Farmer Real Estate Loan. California’s struggling farmers could benefit from that sort of direct aid as well.

The state itself could also realize significant savings from its I-Bank if the bank’s loan capacity were expanded. I was unable to nail down the current comparative figures for loans, but here is an example from an article I wrote in Yes Magazine in 2018:

Financing infrastructure through the municipal bond market accounts for half the cost of infrastructure due to the debt load involved. One example where this is made clear is with Proposition 68, a statewide ballot measure that voters approved in the June 5 primary election which authorizes $4.1 billion in bonds for parks, environmental, and flood protection programs. The true cost of the measure is $200 million per year over 40 years in additional interest, bringing the total to $8 billion. California’s IBank, which funds infrastructure at 3 percent, could finance the same bill over 30 years for $2.1 billion—a nearly 50 percent reduction.

The Golden State as Trendsetter: Time to Form a Bank

In 2019, two bills were brought to convert California’s I-Bank into a depository bank, one in the Senate, SB 528 (Hueso), and one in the Assembly, AB 310 (Santiago). SB 528 sought simply to convert the I-Bank to a depository ban. It passed the first two committees but was “suspended” in Appropriations. The second bill, AB 310, sought to extend the I-Bank’s services directly to underserved individuals and businesses. It was opposed by the state treasurer and the state controller on grounds that it was too risky, and it failed. But California State Treasurer Fiona Ma said in her opposition letter to AB 310 that she was sympathetic to its goals, and that “I respectfully propose AB 310 be amended, replacing the current language with a mandate to develop a feasibility study to be conducted by an independent, apolitical expert source. The technical experts in my office can assist to build the framework of the study as the state’s banker.” 

There is actually no need to change the I-Bank’s existing programs, since it already has a variety of programs that help the underserved indirectly. Simply converting it to a depository bank would extend the reach of its existing services (for which there is currently excess demand), expand its profitability, reduce the cost of infrastructure and development for state and local government agencies, and protect any revenues deposited in it from a sudden crisis in the conventional banking system. 

The remedy for unemployment is employment, and the remedy for the unhoused is affordable housing. An I-Bank expanded into a state-owned depository bank could provide both.

___________________________

This article was first posted as an original to ScheerPost.com. Ellen Brown is an attorney, co-chair of the Public Banking Institute, and author of thirteen books including Web of Debt, The Public Bank Solution, and Banking on the People: Democratizing Money in the Digital Age. She also co-hosts a radio program on PRN.FM called “It’s Our Money.” Her 400+ blog articles are posted at EllenBrown.com.

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    — 2025

    1200. Aug. 24, interview with Randy Voller, “On the Porch” (radio)

    1199. Aug. 10, interview with Elisa Barwick, Australian Citizens Party, “Return the power of banking to the people.”  

    1198. July 31, 11 am est, speaker, Capital Institute Monthly Discovery Dialogues

    1197. May 29, 5 pm pst, speaker, National Infrastructure Bank Coalition webinar.

    1. Apr. 23, 1 pm EDT, Panel with Prof. Robert Hockett, “From Speculation to Sustainability: Reclaiming Finance for People and Planet.”
    1. Mar. 27, 5 pm pst: National Infrastructure Bank Will Stop a Recession Dead in Its Tracks! NIB Zoom, March 27, 2025 – YouTube
    1. Mar. 19, 7-8 pm pst, Washingtonians for Public Banking Virtual Town Hall.1193.
    1. Feb. 26, 5 pm pst, National Infrastructure Bank: Addressing the Federal Budget Crisis!
    1. Jan. 23, 5 pm pst: No to Austerity! Yes to the National Infrastructure Bank! NIB Zoom Town Hall, January 23, 2025

    — 2024 —

    1191. Dec. 10, 9 am EST, interview with Dave Krieger (former host of the Power Hour)

    1190. Nov. 21, 5 pm pst, 11-21 National Infrastructure Bank Coalition webinar.

    1189. Oct. 30, 1:30 pm EST, Bretton Woods 90th Anniversary Commemoration, “The Public Banking Mandate,” power point by zoom.

    1188. Aug. 15, 5 pm pst, National Infrastructure Bank Coalition webinar.

    1187. June 18, 5 pm pst, National Infrastructure Bank Coalition webinar presentation.

    1186. May 22, 6 pm pst, powerpoint for Washingtonians for Public Banking, “The Past, Present and Future of Public Banking”

    1185. Apr. 25, 5 pm pst, National Infrastructure Bank Coalition webinar presentation.

    1184. Mar. 21, 5 pm pst, National Infrastructure Bank Coalition webinar presentation.

    1183. Mar. 10, 4 pm PST, speaker, Voices for New Democracy online forum.

    1182. Feb. 29, National Infrastructure Bank Coalition webinar.

    1181. Feb.2-5, speaker, Restore Freedom Rally 2024, Freedom Law School, Orlando, FL. 10% discount code, EB10.

    1180. Jan 18, 5 pm pst, power point presentation, National Infrastructure Bank Coalition webinar.

    1179. Jan. 13, 5 pm EST, video interview with Firebreathin’ Bob.

    — 2023 —

    1178. 12-21-23, 1 pm, GlobalResearch News Hour, tribute to Stephen Lendman.

    1177. 12-14-23, 5 pm PST, webinar presentation, National Infrastructure Bank Coalition.

    1176. 10-22-23, 10:45 am, speaker, The Weston A. Price Foundation’s 23rd Annual Conference, Kansas City, Missouri.

    1175. 10-19-23, The Final Banking Solution, with Simon Thorpe and Colin Maxwell on The Vinny Eastwood Show, YouTube, Australia.

    1174. 8-22-23, 10 am, Claremont, CA, Cobb Institute Center for Process, power point presentation: “Restoring Prosperity with a Financial Transaction Tax and Publicly Owned Banks.“ Zoom link is here.

    1173. 6-15-23, NIB Zoom town hall, National Infrastructure Bank Coalition.

    1172. 5-22-23: Radio interview, 9:30 am est, The Power Hour.

    1171. 5-17-23: TV interview, CGTN America, Global Business: “Banking industry in hot seat during Congressional hearings.”

    1170. Apr 27, National Infrastructure Bank Coalition webinar, “How to Build the Nation: National Banking vs. Privatization”

    1169. Apr 23, interview on World Stage with Bruce De Torres, TNT Radio

    1168. 4-17-23, 9 am pst, interview with Prof. Richard Wolff, “Economic Update.”

    1167. 4-8 & 4-9, 9 am est, radio interview with Dr. Elaina George, “Medicine on Call.”

    1166. 4-8-23, noon pst, radio interview, Tom Quinn Show, ksco.com.

    1165. 4-6-23, radio interview with Phillip Farruggio, “It’s the Empire, Stupid.”

    1164. 4-4-23, 2 pm edt, NIB Zoom Roundtable, “National Banking in Times of Crisis.”

    1163. Mar. 24 & 25, United for Free Speech Webinar, Think Local, Ireland.

    1162. 3-23-23, 9 am EST, radio interview, The Power Hour.

    1161. 3-19-23, Interview with James Corbett, “Alternative Solutions to the Banking Crisis.”

    1160. 3-16-23, 5 pm pst, National Infrastructure Bank Coalition Town Hall, “Restructuring the American Workforce in a Time of Financial and Economic Turbulence.”

    1159. 3-14-23, 5 pm EST, Living In The Solution with Dr. Elaina George

    1158. 3-9-23, 8 am PST, Sarah Westall, podcast

    1157. 3-2-23, 11 am EST, The Gary Null Show, PRN.live.

    1156. 2-25-23, 15:00-17:00 GMT (Ireland), Think Local Conference 2023, Panel 3 – Money & Economics – New Paradigms

    1155. 2-16-23, 5 pm pst, National Infrastructure Bank Coalition, “Washington, Hamilton, Lincoln: National Banking and the Economic Demands of Today’s Crisis,” NIB Zoom Town Hall

    1154. 1-19-23, 5 pm pst, National Infrastructure Bank Coalition, “National Banking Will Drive a U.S. Economic Boom!” NIB Zoom Town Hall

    — 2022 —

    1153. 12-15-22: 5 pm pst, National Infrastructure Bank Town Hall presentation.

    1152. 11-17-22: NIB Zoom Town Hall, “The Next Steps: The American System and the National Infrastructure Bank.”

    1151. 10-19-22: NIB Zoom Town Hall, “Rebuild the Nation with a New Reconstruction Finance Corporation.”

    1150. 10-8-22: 18th Annual AMI Monetary Reform Conference, 2022 “The Monetary Scene: The Last Three Years,” power point presentation.

    1149. 9-8-22, 5 pm pst: NIB Zoom Town Hall, “US at the Crossroads: American Industrial Recovery or Fed Chair Powell’s Recession.”

    1148. 8-11-22, 5 pm, National Infrastructure Bank Coalition webinar.

    1147. 8-2-22, noon pst, interview by Rep. Pamela Powers Hannley, “Powers for the People” podcast (joining Prof. Bob Hockett).

    1146. 8-1-22, 5:50 to 6:10 pm pst, interview with Scott Harris, WPKN Radio in Bridgeport, CT, “Between the Lines.”

    1145. 7-22-22, 5 pm pst, National Infrastructure Bank Coalition webinar.

    1144. 7-8-22, 5 pm pst, Interview with Kevin Barrett, Truth Jihad Radio.

    1143. 6-30-22, 5 pm pst, National Infrastructure Bank Coalition webinar with Prof. Robert Hockett, Sen. Bob Hasegawa, et al.

    1142. 6-16-22: National Infrastructure Bank Coalition webinar on stagflation with Nomi Prins, Robert Hockett, et al.

    1141. 6-10-22: TNT radio interview with Sen. Malcolm Roberts, Australia.

    1140. 5-19-22: 5 pm pst, National Infrastructure Bank town hall presentation. https://www.nibcoalition.com/all-videos

    1139. 5-17-22: 11 am pst, interview, Kerry Lutz’s Financial Survival Network.

    1138. Apr. 22, 5 pm cst, interview, The Hrvoje Morić Show, TNT Radio

    1137. Apr. 22, 11 am est, Gary Null Show, PRN Live

    1136. Apr. 20, 7 pm cst, webinar, “Public Banking: Investing in Colorado!,” Colorado Public Banking Coalition

    1135. 4-19, 9 am pst, interview with Simone Mariam for the Italian blog MittDolcino

    1134. Apr. 19, 12:30 pm pst, interview with Jay Taylor, “A PetroRuble Now Competes with the PetroDollar”, Jay Taylor Media

    1133. Apr. 15, Interview with Kristina Borjesson, The Whistleblower Newsroom, bitchute, “History Informs a Reset That Could Serve the People”

    1132. Apr. 8, Interview with Kevin Barrett, Truth Jihad Radio, 5 pm pst

    1131. Apr. 6, Podcast with Bob Scheer, ScheerPost.com

    1130. Mar. 31, Power Point presentation on youtube, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Invita: Debates Ensayos de Economia Coordina: Guillermo Maya — Profesor adscrito al Departamento de Economia

    1129. Mar. 10, Webinar presentation, “Stop Inflation in Its Tracks! Role of the National Infrastructure Bank”

    1128. Feb. 17, Webinar presentation for National Infrastructure Bank Coalition, Abraham Lincoln and the American System of Economics

    — 2021 —

    1127. Dec. 18, Daniel Estulin and Ellen Brown on Global Economic Implosion, Kevin Barrett Truth Jihad

    1126. Dec. 7, Interview with Daniel Estulin

    1125. Nov. 27, “The Greening of Finance and the Global PPP Land Grab” with Matt Ehret on youtube

    1124. Sep. 29, interview with Jan Roberts of Systems Change Advocate,  jroberts@ciaction.org> linkedin.com/in/jan-roberts-0001688  Systems Change Advocate 

    1123. Aug. 30, Center for Global Justice webinar with Walt McRee, “Public Banking: Democratizing Finance”

    1122. July 28, 5 pm pst, webinar, “Public Banks: A Path to Economic Transformation in California,” EcoCiv Dialogues for Global Systems Change series

    1121. July 22, 5 pm pst, webinar, “The Truth about America’s Monetary System,” American Ethical Union National Conference

    1120. Mar. 29, 2 pm est, panel hosted by Rickey Gard Diamond, “Zoom of Our Own, Creating Currency and Blowing Big Bubbles.”

    1119. Mar. 25, 11 am pst, BoldRethink webinar, TBA

    1118. Mar. 21, 10 am pst, Public Banking panel, TBA

    1117. March 5, Sean Stone interview, Unrig

    1116. March 2, PBI Live Town Hall, Ohio

    1115. Feb. 23, 7 pm est, Eco Justice Collaborative Webinar, “Why the Crises We Face Make Financial Reform Essential,” Religious Society of Friends, Philadelphia

    1114. Feb. 17, 11 am, Steff Overbeck, Pod of Gold radio interview

    1113. Feb. 18, radio interview, Phil Mikan, wlis1420

    1112. Feb. 16, National Infrastructure Bank Coalition Presidents’ Day Webinar 2021 – “National Infrastructure Bank: Standing on the Shoulders of Giants”

    1111. Feb. 6, radio interview, Sylvia Richardson, Latin Waves

    1110. Jan. 28, 6 pm est, PBI NY Town Hall

    1109. Jan. 27, “Ellen Brown and Matt Ehret Discuss: A Brief History of Economic Warfare and the American System”, youtube

    1108. Jan. 16, 11 am cst, Warner Lewis, Lewis at Large (Kansas City), KLWN, 101.7 FM

    1107. Jan. 15, 3-5 pm, Revolution Radio, The Fetzer Report

    1106. Jan. 8, 4 pm PST, zoom power point presentation, Praxis Peace Institute

    — 2020 —

    1105. Dec. 30, 3 pm EST, Eleanor LeCain radio show on PRN

    1104. Dec. 28, 9 pm EST, interview on WPKN Radio with Scott Harris, Between The Lines Radio 

    1103. Dec. 13, Ramola D. Reports, US/UK news panel #11, with Prof. Tim Canova, et al.

    1102. Dec. 12, podcast/radio interview,  Ralph Nader Radio Hour

    1101. Dec. 6, Ramola D. Reports, US/UK news panel #10, with Dr. Christiane Northrup et al.

    1100. Nov. 29, Ramola D. Reports, News Panel 9, with Justin Walker, Andy Kaufmann, John Reizer, Sandi Adams

    1099. Nov. 3, Turning Point Talks, Australia, Zoom power point presentation, 7 pm Australia time

    1098. Nov. 1, 4 pm pst, panel, 2020 Building the New World Conference

    1097. Oct. 26, Phil Mikan Show, WLIS/WMRD Radio, Conn., pre-recorded for Friday at 10 est or Saturday at 9-11 est

    1096. Oct. 22, 1:15 pm EST, power point presentation, “Public Banking, Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) and the National Debt,” Carolina Hills Community, Chapel Hill, NC

    1095. October 3, 1:30, “Energizing a Just Transition Conference.”

    1094. Sept. 30, webinar,2020 Building the New World Conference, 4 pm pst/7 pm est

    1093. Sept. 12, San Diego public banking group webinar with Sen. Ben Hueso, 5 pm

    1092. Sept. 9, interview with Meria Heller, 10 am pst

    1091. Aug. 30, interview with Jack Etkin, Citizens Forum,  Community Television, Victoria, BC, 2 pm pst

    1090. Aug. 17, The Power Hour, 10 am PDT.

    1089. July 30, 4 pm PST, John Truman Wolfe Financial Hour

    1088. July 15, 6 pm EST, Connecticut Public Banking Town Hall, livestream here

    1087. July 13, Webinar, Center for Global Justice, “Why Public Banking Needs to Be Run as a Public Utility,” San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, 11am-1pm PDT

    1086. Interview with Susan Johnson on public banking for Connecticut, WILI’s Let’s Talk About It Show, 5 pm EST

    1085. Interview on Russia Today, “In Question,”  “BlackRock the Behemoth,” July 2, 2020

    1084. July 1, Bonnie Faulkner interview with Peter Koenig on Guns and Butter

    1083, July 1, 8 am PST, interview with Phillip Farruggio, “It’s the Empire, Stupid,” Greanvillepost.com

    1082. June 29, 9-9:30 pm EST, interview with Scott Harris, “Between the Lines,” WPKN Radio, Conn.

    1081. June 24, 6-6:30 pm EST, interview with Paul DeRienzo, WBAI News, New York City

    1080. June 23, 6:30-8pm MST, Webinar on Forming a New Mexico State Public Bank, Alliance for Local Economic Prosperity

    1o79. June 10, podcast with Kim Iverson, “The Fed and the Big Bank Wealth Heist. Why We Need Public Banking.”

    1078. Interview with Sylvia Richardson, Latin Waves, 10 am PST

    1077. June 5, 6 pm pst, Center for American Studies Town Meeting, Concord, NH, live-streamed

    1076. June 5, 12:30 pm, Public Banking Town Hall for Colorado Leaders, Zoom conference

    1075. May 28, WECAN webinar, “Structuring an Economy for People and Planet in the Time of Climate Crisis and COVID-19,” 11:00 am PST/ 2:00pm EST

    1074. May 22, Interview with Kevin Barrett, Truth Jihad Radio, 5 pm PST

    1073. May 21, Interview with Aaron Wissner, Local Future, Youtube livestream

    1072. May 20, radio interview, “Law and Disorder,” New York City

    1071. May 13, interview with Paul Jay, “Does Public Banking Work?”, The Analysis

    1070. May 10, 12:00-1:00 PM EST, Dr. Elaina George radio show

    1069. May 7, 11 am EST, interview with Phillip Farruggio, “It’s the Empire, Stupid,” Greanvillepost.com

    1068. May 6, Conversations with Rob, community radio, 9 am PST

    1067. Apr 4, interview with Walt McRee and Mark Anielski, The Economics of Wellbeing podcast (pre-recorded, TBA)

    1066. May 2, podcast with Matt Stannard, Cowboys on the Commons

    1065. May 1, Interview with Robert Scheer, Scheer Intelligence, KCRW Los Angeles

    1064. April 30, 12 noon MDT, Public Banking Virtual Town Hall sponsored by Colorado Public Banking Coalition

    1063. April 30, 6-6:30 pm, interview with Paul DeRienzo, WBAI News, New York City

    1062. Apr 29, 1 pm PST, radio interview with Reinette Senum, KVRM, Nevada City, CA (pre-recorded)

    1061. Apr 26, Schiller Institute Online Conference, 3 pm EST

    1060. Apr 26, 6:30 am PST, Morano in the Morning radio talk show

    1059. Apr 21, Interview with Jason Hartman, Creating Wealth Show

    1058. April 13, “Flashpoints,” KPFA, 5:40 pm PST.

    1057. April 9, radio interview with Claudia Cragg, “It’s the Economy,” KGNU Boulder CO, 6 pm MST.

    1056. April 7, “Treasury Takeover?”, podcast interview with Sarah Westall and Harley Schlanger

    1055. March 26, interview with Phillip Farruggio, “It’s the Empire, Stupid,” Greanvillepost.com

    1054. Mar. 17, 7 pm EST, interview with Gary Null, Progressive Commentary Hour

    1053. Feb. 19, radio interview on George Noory’s “Coast to Coast,” 10-12 pm pst.

    1052. Feb. 8, interview with Sylvia Richardson, “Latin Waves” radio podcast.

    1051. Jan. 8, interview with Marcus Ruiz Evans, 1 pm PST

    1050. Jan. 2, interview with Kevin Barrett,  truthjihadradio, 5 pm PST

    — 2019 —

    1049. Dec. 2, Interview with Jeff J. Brown, China Rising Radio

    1048. Nov. 24, 7 pm, presentation sponsored by Agenda for a Prophetic Faith, Claremont Presbyterian Church, Claremont, CA, “Why We Need Public Banks”

    1047. Nov. 24, 11 am, public banking presentation for “Growing Christians” class, Claremont United Methodist Church, Claremont, CA

    1046. Nov. 23, public banking presentation, Pilgrim Place, Claremont, CA

    1045. Nov 16-17, speaker, Soil & Nutrition Conference, Southbridge, MA.

    1044. Nov. 12, interview in New York with Max Keiser, Keiser Report, “Repo Markets and UBI”

    1043. Nov. 6, 5 pm EST, The CivicLab Show with Tom Tresser, live@www.facebook.com/tomtree

    1042. Oct. 23, 11:30 am-1:30 pm, luncheon presentation on public banking, League of Women Voters of San Diego, Tom Ham’s Lighthouse Restaurant, 2150 Harbor Island Dr., San Diego

    1041. Oct. 22, Presentation on public banking, DSA San Diego, Unite Here Union Hall, 2436 Market Street, San Diego, 6-7:30 pm.

    1040. Oct 16-18, keynote speaker, Economics of Happiness conference, Jeonju, South Korea

    1039. Oct. 6, 6 pm pst, interview, Jeff Rense Radio.

    1038. Sept 30, noon EST, radio interview with Pauline Salotti, WUSB, Stony Brook, NY, 90.1 FM, wusb.fm.

    1037. Sept. 26, 7 pm presentation, “Exploding the Myths of Money and Banking,” New Paradigm College, Lake County, CA

    1036. Sept. 20, podcast interview, Silver Doctors

    1035. Sept. 19, 8-9 pm pst, interview, Jeff Rense Radio.

    1034. Interview, Sept. 13 at 5 pm–6 pm on KPFZ, Lake County community Radio, 88.1 FM.

    1033. Sept. 6, Live with Ernest Hancock, 11 am EST (at 2 hour mark on video)

    1032. Aug. 26, interview with Jason Hartman, Creating Wealth Show, 12:00 pm PST.

    1031. Aug. 9, interview with Lauren Steiner, youtube

    1030. July 25, youtube podcast with Sarah Westall, “This is Why China Is Winning”

    1029. July 23, interview with Steve Bhaerman, Wiki Politiki Radio Show, 2 pm pst.

    1028. July 19, interview with Kevin Barrett,  truthjihadradio, 5 pm PST

    1027. July 12, 11 am pst, interview with Annie Esposito and Steve Scalmanini, “Corporations & Democracy,” Mendocino County, CA, www.KZYX.org

    1026. Interview with Crystal Arnold, Money-Wise Women, posted July 10

    1025. July 9, interview with Liz Lane, “It’s the Economy,” KGNU Boulder/Denver/Ft. Collins, 6 pm MDT/8 pm EDT.

    1024. June 23, interview with Mark Anielski, “The Economics of Well-being”

    1023. June 15, interview with Tom Allen, “This Week in Money,” HoweStreet.com

    1022. June 13, Interview with Sinclair Noe, “Financial Review,” MoneyRadio1510.com (pre-recorded)

    1021. June 12, 2 pm, interview on Princeton Community TV, Princeton NJ, “The Public Banking Solution” with Walt McRee

    1020. June 1, interview with Sylvia Richardson, “Latin Waves” radio podcast.

    1019.  Apr. 5, interview with Phillip Watt, healbyhypnosis.com, 3 pm, PT

    1018.  April 3, panel discussion on Green New Deal, BBC World Service, “The Balance”

    1017.  March 28, interview on Thom Hartmann show.

    1016. March 22, interview with Sinclair Noe, Money Radio 1510 

    1015.  March 11, interview with Phillip Farruggio, greanvillepost.com, 11 a.m. EST

    1014.

    1013.  Feb. 9, interview with Sylvia Richardson, Latin Waves, 8 a.m. PT

    1012.  Feb. 8, interview with Kevin Barrett,  truthjihadradio, 6 pm, PST

    1011. Jan. 31, interview with Lee Camp, LeeCampComedySpecial.com

    1010.  Jan. 3, interview with Robert Stark, The Stark Truth with Robert Stark, re The Green New Deal  https://www.starktruthradio.com/?p=8534

    — 2018 —

    1009.  Dec. 17, interview with Scott Harris, WPKN radio, Bridgeport, CT, Between the Lines Radio Newsmagazine, 9:30 ET

    1008. Nov. 2, Interview with Mike Prysner on Real News Network, https://therealnews.com/stories/will-public-banking-free-la-from-wall-street

    1007. Oct. 31, interview on Real News Network, Student Debt Dogs Millenials for a Lifetime and Drags Down the Economy, https://therealnews.com/stories/student-debt-dogs-millennials-for-a-lifetime-and-drags-down-the-economy

    1006. Oct. 22, speaker with Gar Alperovitz at Praxis Peace Institute, “Changing the System: California’s Strategic Role in National Strategic Change,” Sonoma, CA, 276 E. Napa St, Sonoma. 7:00 pm.

    1005. Oct 19-21, Bioneers Conference, panelist on Oct 20, 2:45 pm, Marin Center, San Rafael, CA.997.

    1004. Oct. 18, 350Marin.org, speaking along with Susan Harman, 750 Lindaro Street, San Rafael CA, 6:30pm.

    1003. Oct. 17, video interview with Abby Martin, work in progress.

    1001.  Oct. 11, Interview with Harvey Wasserman, Greenpower and Wellness, prn.fm, KPFK Los Angeles, 2 pm

    1000.  Oct. 9, speaker, State Bank Forum, University of Washington, Kane Hall, 7-9pm http://sdc.wastateleg.org/hasegawa/state-bank/

    999. Oct. 7, panel, Americans for Democratic Action of Southern California Annual Garden Party, 2-5:30 pm, Santa Monica, CA

    998.  Oct. 4, 7:30 pm, Living Economy Salon, panelist, Public Bank LA: “Solutions for Social and Environmental Justice”, 3110 Main St., Annex Building C 2nd Floor, Santa Monica, CA 90405

    997. Oct. 3, interview on Unmediated, podcast of Reader Magazine, episode title: Making Money The Public’s Slave (The Public Banking Solution), 10 a.m.  PT

    996. Oct. 1, radio interview, “The Power Hour,” www.thepowerhour.com, 2 pm

    995. Sept. 28, interview with Sinclair Noe, Money Radio 1510, pre-recorded for a later date

    994.  Sept. 20-22, California Vision 2020 Conference, speaking at 11 am on Sept 20, Sheraton Grand Hotel , Sacramento.

    993.  Sept. 10, interview with Lila Garrett on KPFK, “Connect the Dots”, http://www.kpfk.org/on-air/connect-the-dots/  7. a.m. PT

    992. Sept. 4, interview with Steve Bhaerman, Wikipolitiki Radio, wikipolitiki.com, 2 pm PT

    991. Aug. 31, interview with Kevin Barrett, truthjihadradio. 6 pm PT

    990. Aug. 26, Left Coast Forum, 1:30 pm, Los Angeles Trade Tech

    989. Aug. 22, interview, the Gary Null Show, 9:40 PST

    988. Aug. 14, podcast interview with Sarah Westall, 9 am pst/11 am cst

    987. Aug. 8, interview with Tom Allen, “This Week in Money”, HoweStreet.com

    986.  Aug. 9, interview with Sinclair Noe, Money Radio 1510, pre-recorded for a later date

    985. Aug. 3, 9-10 pm pst, radio interview with True Ott

    984. Aug 2, New York Green Party video livestream,  5 pm PST

    983.  Aug. 1, interview with Elizabeth Dougherty, The Dougherty Report, Newsradio 102.5 WFLA, 3 pm PST

    982. July 21, guest on WakingupinAmerica.com, 6:45 a.m., PDT

    981.  June 28, interview on MONEY RADIO with Sinclair Noe, 11:00 a.m., PST

    980. May 16, “It’s Our Money,” PRN.FM, 3 pm est

    979. May 16, interview with Michael Welch, Global Research, 11 am pst

    978. May 4, First Unitarian Church, Portland, power point presentation, “How Public Banking Would Benefit Portland and Oregon”, 7-9 pm

    977.  April 17, Retirement Lifestyle Advocates radio program, 1 pm PT

    976.  April 13, interview, the Gary Null Show, 9:35 a.m., PT. Subject: The Bayer-Monsanto Merger Is Bad News for the Planet.

    975. April 12 “Mind Over Matters,” KEXP, Seattle, 9 am PT 

    974. April 5, interview with Deb Hobson, KOPN 89.5  Democracy Now! Chautauqua, 4 pm PT

    973. Mar. 10-12, PBI retreat, Loveland, CO

    972.  Mar. 22 interview with Sinclair Noe, The Financial Review, Money Radio 510, 1:30 pm PST

    971.  Mar. 19, Coast to Coast AM radio, 10pm-midnight, PST

    970.  Feb. 28, interview with Ian Trottier, Miami Radio, http://iantrottier.com/, 5:15 pm EST.  Listen here, bit.ly/EllenBrownCA

    969. Jan. 23. 18th National Conference and Global Forum: The Science Business, and Education of Sustainable Infrastructure, Washington DC, panel

    968.  Jan. 20, Interview with Primo Nutmeg https://soundcloud.com/primonutmeg

    967.  Jan. 17, It’s Our Money, 3 pm est–listen here.

    966.  Jan. 17, interview with Valerie Kirkgaard, http://www.wakingupinamerica.com, 2 pm PST

    965.  Jan. 2, Interview withJeff Rense, rense.com, 9 pm PST

    — 2017 and before, see —

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