Bank Run being organized for Dec. 7th

[wildjo]

Saw this bit of news starting to hit today. Starting in France and spreading to other EU countries.

Now, going viral in U.S.

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&source=hp& ... 5a906e32dd

[AGgressive Metal]

Interesting...

What is the goal? Just f*** the banks?

[wolvesdad]

it won't matter.

it will only serve to prove that fiat currency is all smoke and mirrors.

"Okay, have your toilet paper money, we still have all the $$ signs and numbers and zeros."

[wildjo]

Actually, one of the weak links accessible to real people in a fiat currency/fractional reserve banking system is a bank run.

You ask what the goal is: as I understand it, the goal is to shut down French banks as a continuation of the pension protests. But, the organization of the demo is going viral. The number of places I've seen it posted over the last three days with calls to join throughout Europe and now in the U.S. is amazing.

Just to be on the safe side, I'm going to pull what little I have out prior to the 7th.

[Rodebaugh]

hmmm......US should be safe.....don't forget the FDIC

Now if it was heavy viral in the US....or gets there.....I may lighten my bank holdings a bit......no way I am giving up any of those 3% yield CDs.....wow that last statement was sad.

[AGCoinHunter]

I dont see this being an issue. If there is a run, banks will just limit your withdrawl amounts and take a bank holiday once they run low on cash. The printing press is going full steam now so there will be no shortage of dollars to hand out. Now the inflation thing is another matter.

[Kurr]

FDIC is B-R-O-K-E.

As in bankrupt. No way they have they capital to insure even a fraction of the banks

[Lemon Thrower]

the large banks in the u.s. represent about 60% of deposits.

most people who pull their money out will keep their money in the banks, and just transfer from one large bank to the next.

even if you transfer from a large bank to a small bank its a meaningless gesture as it stays in the banking system.

if a few dozen people at a single branch pulled all of their deposits and asked for currency, i would guess the branch would run out of currency. thats very different from saying there is a bank run or the fdic is broke. its a publicity stunt, its not a real event. they would just declare a holiday, print more money, etc.

in the 1930s, there was no fdic. the fdic is backed by the us govt so they can print as much paper as you'll accept.

in the UK a few years ago, there was something similar to fdic that was capped at a modest amount. big institutional deposits started leaving Ireland i think it was and they quickly insured deposits to the max. i mean why not, its only paper. they are insuring the number of paper dollars or euros, not the purchasing power.

i don't see this stunt as accomplishing anything productive.

[wildjo]

While it is true that the fed is printing money, much of that is electronic money, not paper.

Banks only have to have around 10% cash on hand. The FDIC is broke and can't even begin to cover that spread. Still, that's not the issue.

A fractional reserve banking and fiat money system is based on confidence. If banks start restricting withdrawals or close their doors against the hoards calling for their cash, then the people lose confidence in the system. There needs to be a loss of confidence in this system. They have too much power and are using it to enrich themselves at the expense of the average joe and joe's kids/grandkids.

The overnight rate that banks can borrow at is about 0%. You know what a lot of banks are doing? Borrowing money at this rate and doing things like buying local tax debt and then foreclosing on the property. It's just one of the many ways the haves are screwing the have-nots. And its getting worse.

[Lemon Thrower]

what is the point of the bank run? why should i participate? I know all about fractional reserve banking. btw, this would occur even if the money were backed by gold.

banks did not create our problems, govt did.

it seems like the point of the bank run is to crush the banks. what is the point of a society without banks? we have the freedom now not to use banks, but occassionally they provide a service or convenience that many of us use. this sounds like biting one's own nose off to spite their face.

just to be clear, i'll support something that has a point. but this is like boycotting your grocery store. if you are successlful, then your grocery store closes. ok, so now where are you going to buy groceries?

[wildjo]

As you can, hopefully, tell by my OP and follow-up post, my interest in the Dec. 7th bank run being organized was originally to simply be aware. If the effort has an impact, it will mean that having access to your cash might be hampered. Something that I take seriously. I want to know if there is a threat to that access.

However, the more it gets debated, the more I hope that the bank run is successful.

It simply is not true that a bank is like a grocery store. The grocery store isn't getting 0% interest money and using it to push people out of there homes (buying local tax debt and foreclosing). Or, making risky bets (e.g. originating bad mortgages, loans, etc.), taking bailout money, then turning around and fraudulently foreclosing on people and/or not proceeding with loan modifications in good faith.

Sure, there are some decent local banks. But, if you have an account with a large regional bank or a national bank, then they are--in many ways--hypocritical thieves.