Calendar - Occupy Oakland

Occupy The Fed. @ Federal Reserve Building, near Embarcadero

Dec 23 @ 11:00 pm – Dec 24 @ 5:00 am

This will be the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Federal Reserve.

Monday evening from 6 – 9, OccupyForum will hold its meeting at the FED (101 Market) and have a panel of speakers.

5:30 – anti-corporate caroling

6-6:30 – Illuminator will project a message onto the Fed, also the Petaluminator, possibly Light Brigade
Please bring flashlights and other ways to “shed light” on the FED

6:30 – 7:00 – Occupy Forum, topic the Federal Reserve and alternatives (see below)

And other ideas:

– Chalkupy: Ideas for a giant monopoly board are forming, also everyone can write messaging, answer the question “Why are you FED UP with the monetary system?” (or other messaging)

– Blankets: We’re asking everyone who can to drop by a Goodwill or Salvation Army or thrift store and get a blanket (they’re cheap! a few bucks)… The idea is to keep warm while we’re there and then leave them in the free pile for folks who need them.

– Caroling (with words to describe the FED provided)

The FEDERAL RESERVE BANK (commonly called the Fed) and Wall Street banks create just about all the money we use every day. Most people think that the Fed is an agency of the Federal Government. But it’s not. It’s 100% owned by the largest private banks in the US. The Fed uses its incredible power to decide how much new money to create and, more importantly, where to spend it, to benefit the Wall Street banks.

Since most of us think new money is generated by government, we would also expect that money to be directed toward things that benefit all of us such as highways and other infrastructure, education, health care and social security.

However, all money the government spends has to be borrowed at interest from the banks and the Fed. The banks and the Fed create this money, instead, by investing in areas that will provide them with maximum profits – usually wars, the coal and oil industries and real estate. This results in crashes like the current one which started in 2008, and depressions, and no consideration is given to the moral or environmental costs of these investments. Profits over people as usual.

The Fed operates largely in secret, and is not required to be accountable to anyone. There has never been a proper audit of the Federal Reserve Bank. The power to create money is arguably the most important single power in the US economy and yet the people have no control over it!

It’s time to shine a light on the workings of the Fed. We need to start discussing solutions like making the Fed accountable and handing over the power of money creation to the Federal Government! This could be the single most powerful way to create a more democratic economy that serves the interests of all of us – not just a few who profit immensely off of our labor.

Join us this Monday, Dec. 23 at 5pm on the Federal Reserve’s 100th Birthday when we will Illuminate the Fed!

Speakers will include Occupy activist Jane Smith, who will provide us with details on how the Fed works (or doesn’t work), and how we can take control of money creation away from big banks. The Illuminators will be there to project images and messages onto the FED building and there will be other events as well, listed below. Bring flashlights! Bring blankets! Bring ideas for chalking: “Why are you FED UP?”

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