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Oakland teachers say 'Bail out schools, not banks'

Jack Gerson - January 21, 2011

On January 13, more than 50 members and allies of the Oakland Education Association (OEA, the Oakland teacher union) staged a spirited protest calling for reversing priorities to bail out schools, not banks, and to end foreclosures. The demonstrators delivered their message at three Oakland bank branches — Wells Fargo, Chase, and Bank of America — all in the Rockridge Shopping Center. Their message was that the $4.7 trillion bailout of the big banks came at the expense of schools, essential public services, and the nine million families who have lost their homes to bank foreclosures. This message resonated with the many passing motorists who honked their horns in support, and with bank customers and shoppers who voiced their agreement that something is very wrong when banks are "too big to fail" but schools, workers and families are apparently just the right size to sacrifice.

Oakland teachers union members make their point outside Bank of America branch in Oakland during their January 13, 2011 "Bail out schools!" protest. Substance photo by Steve Miller.The action began with a rally in front of the Chase branch at 4:30. At 5 PM the protesters marched to the Bank of America branch, where they picketed before moving on to Wells Fargo, where they presented the branch manager with a letter to be delivered to Wells Fargo President John Stumpf. The letter called on Wells Fargo to organize a bank bailout of the Oakland school debt; to publicly endorse increased taxation of bank and corporate profits; to endorse a "split-roll" property tax to tax corporate property at higher rates than homes; and to end foreclosures by adjusting mortgages to reflect homes' reduced market values.

The responsiveness of passersby shows that there's broad understanding of the direct relationship between the trillions ripped off by the banks and the mounting unemployment, foreclosures, homelessness, and hunger. Despite the impression conveyed by Obama and the mass media that the $800 billion TARP (Toxic Assets Relief Program) was the entire bailout, and that the banks have repaid nearly all of this, the fact is that TARP was only a small part of the federal giveaway to Wall Street. In fact, the banks were given $4.7 trillion of our money, and they haven't paid back $2 trillion. ($2 trillion is more than the entire debt of all states, counties, and cities combined -- including all unfunded public pension liabilities. It's also nearly double the total amount spent thus far on the Iraq War.) Most of the money given to the banks was done without even Congressional authorization, because it was disbursed by the Federal Reserve Bank. Clearly, the banks left their paw prints all over their Obama-aided appropriation of trillions of dollars of our money.

The Real Economy Project of the Center for Media and Democracy has put together a table that breaks down the full extent of the Wall Street bailout. That's available here:

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Total_Wall_Street_Bailout_Cost

As that table shows, in addition to the $4.7 trillion handed to the banks, the Fed and Geithner's treasury department gave the banks guarantees that the government would stand behind another more than $9 trillion of bank debt and obligations. That's $14 trillion for Wall Street. Taken from working and unemployed people. Taken directly from jobs, from schools, housing, libraries, shelters, and all the other essential services that have been cut back or eliminated.

The Oakland community's sympathetic and enthusiastic response to the OEA banks' protest is not an aberration. Just below the surface, the potential is there for mass action against the savage attacks on the working class. Last year's California-based fight to save public education provided a glimpse of what's possible. But much more is possible. This protest was only the beginning of a campaign, and hopefully it will take off in other communities. 

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