Pamela Powers

Long-time blogger and political activist, Pamela Powers holds a masters’ degree in public health from the University of Arizona and a bachelors’ degree in journalism from the Ohio State University. She has worked for many years in communications and public relations. Powers stepped down from her position as the managing editor of the American Journal of Medicine to serve Legislative District 9 in the Arizona House. Powers won her seat in November 2016 and won her re-election bid in 2018. She continues to work part-time social media editor for the journal. In addition to Blog for Arizona, she writes her own blog, The The Tucson Progressive and has contributed political stories to the Huffington Post. Powers Hannley is co-director of Arizonans for a New Economy, Arizona’s public banking initiative. Political website: PowersForThePeople.net Facebook Page: Pamela Powers Hannley for House Tucson Progressive on Facebook: Tucson Progressive Twitter handle: @p2hannley Instagram: p2hannley
Arizonans for a New Economy

Arizona Legislature Considers Multiple Public Banking Bills (video)

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Arizonans for a New Economy
Arizonans for a New Economy has been working on public banking initiatives in Arizona since 2011.

Austerity is a lie.

We have plenty of money.

The problem is that it is being gambled on Wall Street, instead of being invested on Main Street.

That is the message of public banking.

The State of Arizona– and 48 other states– allow billions of  dollars in taxpayer funds to be invested for the benefit of Bank of America, JP Morgan CHASE, Wells Fargo, and other Wall Street banks who our hold rainy day funds. Shareholders in those “too-big-to-fail” banks make money on OUR money, while we are told to “tighten our belts”. The only state whose economy didn’t crash in 2008-09 was North Dakota because the State of North Dakota created a public bank in 1919 and invests its money at home, rather than allowing Wall Street to invest ND funds for the benefit of Wall Street shareholders. Forty percent of the world’s banks are public banks, but there is only one in the US because our country and our government are controlled by Wall Street.

Public banking advocates across the country are working on state and municipal public banking initiatives. Public banking initiatives have been proposed by both Republicans and Democrats in multiple sessions of the Arizona Legislature. This year, there are multiple bills addressing public banking and/or the health of community banks in Arizona.

The most promising bill is SB1395, proposed by Southern Arizona Senator Andrea Dalessandro, a long-term public banking advocate which would establish a task force to study the feasibility of establishing a state bank of Arizona. SB1395 will be heard by the Senate’s Financial Institutions Committee on Wednesday, February 18, 2015.

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Scottsdale Police Watch as Pro-Police Protesters Bully Counter Protesters & Journalist (video)

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Pro police protesters used physical size, name-calling, and physical intimidation to stop counter protesters and journalists, while Scottsdale police watched.
Pro-police protesters used physical threats, name-calling, and bullying to stop counter protesters and journalists, while Scottsdale police watched. Here a very large, very intimidating pro-police bully calls a young woman “puke” and “stupid”. When he pushes up against her, she jokingly asks if he wants to get closer, to which he says “no” because “you stink.”

Phoenix videographer Dennis Gilman likes to be where the action is– with his video camera.

This past Saturday, January 17, Gilman and his camera were in Scottsdale for a rally in support of Scottsdale police, who “have a worse record than Ferguson when it comes to arresting minorities. They are also pretty famous for killing unarmed people. Besides the damage it has done to many families, it has cost Scottsdale tax payers plenty,” according to Gilman.

For the most part, Scottsdale police stood idly by as pro-police protesters used physical threats, name-calling, and bullying in an attempt to shut down counter protesters and stop Gilman from filming. Video after the jump.

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Nonpartisan League

Sanders Echos Warren with Call to ‘Bust Up the Big Banks’

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Teddy Roosevelt
President Teddy Roosevelt was America’s original “trust-buster,” taking on monopolies and big banks in the early 20th century.

One day after Senator Elizabeth Warren rekindled the spirit of President Teddy Roosevelt and called for breaking up the Wall Street banks because they have too much political power, Senator Bernie Sanders has seconded that proposal.

From Sanders’ press release:

“Over the last several days, it has become abundantly clear that Congress does not regulate Wall Street but Wall Street regulates Congress.  If Wall Street lobbyists can literally write a provision into law that will allow too-big-to-fail banks to make the same risky bets that nearly destroyed our economy just a few years ago, it should be obvious to all that their incredible economic and political power is a huge danger to our economy and our way of life,” Sanders said.

Lobbyists for Citigroup drafted the measure and JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon reportedly called congressmen to lobby for the provision that would gut a key provision of Dodd-Frank, the Wall Street reform law passed in 2010.

“Enough is enough,” Sanders said. “Today, almost all of the too-big-to-fail banks are bigger and even more powerful than they were before we bailed them out. The six largest financial institutions have over $9.8 trillion in assets — the equivalent of more than 60 percent of GDP.  They issue over half of the mortgages and more than two-thirds of the credit cards in America.

“If Congress cannot regulate Wall Street, there is just one alternative.  It is time to break these too-big-to-fail banks up so that they can never again destroy the jobs, homes, and life savings of the American people.

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Elizabeth Warren

Warren Blasts Corporate Politicians, Calls for Break-Up of CitiGroup (video)

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Elizabeth Warren
Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren says when CitiGroup can sneak deregulation into a must-pass governmental budget, it has too much power and should be broken up.

In a fiery but measured speech on the Senate floor, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren blasted the close ties between CitiGroup, Congress, and the Clinton, Bush, and Obama administrations as Wall Street “cronyism”. Channeling trust-busting, progressive President Teddy Roosevelt, Warren called for “opening up Dodd-Frank to make it tougher” and for an end to “too big to fail” banks.

“Let me say to anyone who is listening at Citi, I agree with you that Dodd-Frank isn’t perfect,” Warren said, looking directly into the camera. “It should have broken you into pieces.” [Full video after jump.]

Warren and other progressives are riled up because Congress inserted a Wall Street deregulation clause into the federal government budget bill which the House passed last week. This provision– written by CitiGroup lobbyists– weakens the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, allows Wall Street banks to return to the risky derivatives trading that sparked the worldwide financial collapse of 2008-09,  and paves the way for future Wall Street bank bailouts. The fix is in for more gambling with our money.

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Strike Fast Food

Fast Food Workers #FightFor15 & Strike Today Nationwide

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Service Employees International Union (SEIU) has organized another fast food strike today, December 4 in Tucson and around the country. This is the third nationwide fast food strike in a year, with one in December 2013 and one in September 2014. Protesters, strikers, and supporters will meet around 12:30 at Casa Maria,  401 E 26th … Read more