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OpEdNews Op Eds    H2'ed 5/4/10

What About Where You Live? Privatizing Our Heritage

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Now the Obama administration and Congress are worried about the deficit and debt. Americans will soon be told by a special, bipartisan, blue ribbon commission that they must swallow some bitter medicine. Social Security, Medicare and what little of Americans' taxes that is not yet spent on Wall Street, the war machine and corporate welfare will be on the block.

But it will not be enough to feed the insatiable appetite for profit of America's corporate masters, and when the private wealth of Americans is exhausted, they will go after the public wealth - which includes things like state parks.

Because parks, which have a lot of real estate, are an asset and are bankable - they can be turned into investment and more profit.

Which is why, in 1919 the people of North Dakota formed their own bank, specifically to avoid the clutches of Wall Street and its then newly created subsidiary, the Federal Reserve, and placed in their state bank all the assets of the state. From that time, Bank of North Dakota has generated a wealth of credit, investment and revenue for the people of the state.

While almost every state in the United States is now drowning in red ink, North Dakota is posting a surplus. In the last decade, the Bank of North Dakota has returned more than a third of a billion dollars to the state general fund and invests in businesses and education, funds disaster relief and creates jobs.

The legislatures of half a dozen other states are now taking steps to create a state bank. As of today, candidates in Florida, Oregon, Illinois, California, Washington State, Vermont, and Idaho have platforms which contain this game changing proposal.

It is projected that California, with more than $200 billion in real estate, roughly $62 billion in investments and more than $100 billion in projected 2010 revenues could safely leverage that into $4 trillion for investment in infrastructure, schools, jobs and the needs of the people.

The balance sheet included in the Report for the Fiscal Year June 30, 2009 of the annual audited statement for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania shows that, while not as rich as California, the people of Pennsylvania own more than $50 billion in assets, including: $2.4 billion in anticipated tax revenue, $3.5 billion in long-term investments and $2.2 billion in real estate, including the 137 acres in the Washington Crossing Historic Park.

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Author of the forthcoming novel "Pursuits of Happiness," a director of the Public Banking Institute and chairman of the Pennsylvania Project. Mike is an international transportation and logisics executive with broad experience in U.S. government (more...)
 

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