About 75 people participated in a peaceful demonstration on a Washington Street sidewalk in front of the Wells Fargo Brainerd branch Saturday afternoon.
Terry Sluss, an Occupy Brainerd organizer, said the group did have two counter-protesters who sat in their vehicles and watched, but in general, the protesters received a lot of positive support by passing motorists, Sluss said.
“It went very well,” Sluss said of the 90-minute demonstration. “Everybody that was there demonstrating really felt positive support from the community as people drove by.”
The theme of the demonstration was “Make Wall Street Pay.” Sluss said the group chose Wells Fargo because after doing some research, they discovered a significant number of housing foreclosures in Brainerd were mortgages held by Wells Fargo.
“There was one by Bank of America but we don’t have a local chapter,” Sluss said of why Wells Fargo was selected. “That and we had to bail out Wells Fargo and the other major banks. Wells Fargo got $25 billion in bailout, TARP money and its CEO last year made $17.6 million in salary. The company also paid no corporate taxes the last three years.”
Sluss said the group was respectful of the Wells Fargo employees working there at the time. He said the branch apparently called Brainerd Police for employees to be escorted to their vehicles after the branch closed at 2 p.m. but there were no problems.
“We were very respectful of the employees. It was simply a statement about their corporate office,” Sluss said.
Sluss said the Occupy Brainerd group will likely host similar demonstrations in the future.
The demonstration was co-sponsored by Central Lakes Senior Caucus, Brainerd Trades and Labor, MoveOn.org and other groups and individuals.
Comments (67)
Add commentdumb
what is the bank supposed to do-give you a house? move on .org should do just that -MOVE ON! retired teachers are showing how ignorance rules! you just voted to raise taxes on local business for the teachers union-guess what? that costs jobs!
75 people? I drove by, and
75 people? I drove by, and also looked through the pics. Looked like a little over a dozen.
The guy in front of me honked and flipped the bird. Does that count as a show of support?
BTW - the guy in the truck is an OSW supporter. Just a nice stereotype of what they think of anyone who doesn't support their cause (whatever that is today) You know, illiterate, uninformed redneck, unable to think for themselves and make their own decisions, etc.
moonhawk
Sounds kind of undemocratic to just get rid of organizations you disagree with. That sounds like....a dictatorship? Would that make you happy?
And to slam or blame any retired person is pretty juvenile. It took more than any one segment to pass the levy.
Bank fees are ridiculous. Pay thousands to get a mortgage, then pay monthly for years before your principal is more than your interest each month. And they take little risk as the loans are guaranteed. If they were losing money on foreclosures, they would sell those foreclosed homes at any price. But they must like them on their books.
wolf: if the guy in the hat like Herman Cain's is a supporter, then who is he? Pretty clever if he was a plant.
Have you ever
heard of a contract lake? If you don't like the way it is set up don't sign it. Maybe you should rent or just let the Govt. take care of you or maybe you already do. Have you ever heard of personal responsibility? It seems to be out of style these days but when you commit to something you follow it through even if your house is not worth what you paid for it. Where in the contract does it say your investment will grow every year?
Disjointed cause, good target
Not sure that the movement isn't too closely tied to local politics to be successful.
But Wells Fargo sure is a great target.
They sent many employees on a lavish Las Vegas bash right after getting a huge public bail out. They have been in the news for getting into legal trouble with investors--serious trouble--multiple times in the last few years.
Greed, pure and simple greed, with a healthy dose of not caring about the money of customers. If you think the stereotype of bankers as conservative and being careful with both investments and loans is accurate, you sure can't look to Wells Fargo to represent it.
Sluss mentioned other things in the article that are all true.
The way I see it, you can't attack mortgage holders for making bad choices without equal scorn for the institutions that allowed it to happen. They knew the risk was high--but proceeded to expose themselves and their customers to massive risk anyway.
TS can now
add "Community Organizer" to his resume for 2012. That might be enough for him to turn the corner and send him on his way to St.Paul representing all of the "Smart People"of this district.
My count
When I was there between 1 pm and 1:30, there were about 40 by my own count.. I'm sure the numbers fluctuated as time went on. I don't know if there were as many as 75 at anyone time --- maybe there were, maybe there weren't.
I got the sense that the point of doing it there at WELLS FARGO was not due to our own branch of it -- but WELLS FARGO in general. Instead of paying their execs those nice big bonuses (which you and I pay for, by the way) couldn't they develop a product to help people pay off mortgages if they get in trouble? Is that too much to hope for? I would think it would be in the best interests of both the bank and the mortgagee to work things out.
Should some people be foreclosed on? Certainly - there are slackers out there, just like in every walk of life. They try to screw the system, make little effort to keep up to date on their mortgage Should some people be afforded a way to meet their obligations so they don't have to be foreclosed on? Sure. Why not? There are those who would be glad -- and maybe have already tried- to work with the banking system to meet those obligations, just like many of us would do.
I just don't see the banking world offering that kind of service. That's just one of things that bother those who were out there Saturday afternoon.
Research Occupy movement, Frannie and Freddie
Why would people want to be associated with the "Occupy" group?
Our local people should spend some time researching all the problems
of the larger "Occupy" group.
Did Wells Fargo ask for the bailout or was it forced on them as
it was on other banks?
To ask for no more foreclosures is to not know there will be foreclosures
as long as there are loans.
To ask the passersby to "create jobs" is another "duh" and why don't
the protestors create jobs? I mean private sector jobs that pay the taxes.
Are any of these people being paid by Move'In or the union?
Why not protest the bonuses paid at Frannie and Freddie and all the
money (ours) wasted at those places? Research that.
Yep!
WF forces people to borrow from them every day.
Occupy Leader
I am organizing an Occupy Leader event. Should get lots of press!
Aim your anger in the right place
These people while well intentioned are very naive as to what they are protesting. Why the focus on commercial and retail banks when the ones that collapsed the economy where investment banks like Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Bear Sterns. These companies made the risky investments, then needed to be bailed out, then sank the economy. The Federal Reserve (Government) decided to pump more money into ALL banks in order to ensure they remained strong in what was obviously going to be a difficult economic time. Bail outs (TARP funds) were FORCED upon many banks that did not need any help such as wells fargo and us bank. Wells Fargo was one of the last to take TARP money from the Fed and one of the first to pay it back, once the Feds ALLOWED them to.
As for foreclosures, every person in this county that takes out a mortgage knows that they get to keep the house they buy as long as they pay. If you stop paying you no longer get to live there. That goes for hotels, apartments, condos, and just about every other livable space. Its unfortunate that it happened but why should the bank allow you to live in a home for free, I don’t get to live for free, I have to pay my mortgage, I’m not going to protest because of it.
If you want to go after "wall street" how about Wal Mart, Target, McDonalds, Home Depot. All of these places are publicly traded companies that push out local businesses and replace them with low paying jobs and money that all leaves the community. If the people standing in front of Wells over the weekend would have taken the equivalent time to actually research what they are protesting they may be able to direct it more appropriately.
Hurts
It hurts to lose your home to foreclosure.
When a catastrophic medical situation happens and because of that you lose your home, it hurts in many more ways. The stress of losing your home just adds to the physical stress.
But sometimes it is just easier to lose your home of 28 years and get your health back to live another 30 years in another house.
Life goes on.
"Pretty clever if he was a
"Pretty clever if he was a plant."
Clever? LOL! I can just see them all giggling as they dressed him up.
wolf
I bet that was you!!
Good humor, Lake. Close, but
Good humor, Lake.
Close, but no cigar.
Idiots
Lakelander- If you dont want to pay interest on a mortgage then dont buy a house on borrowed money, pay for it yourself! The bank cant sell the house for "any price" because they loaned a certain amount on the house and want to recover as much money as possible to minimize loss. Keeping a non-performing asset on "their books" would be stupid!
Rino- you are correct that both institution and borrower hold some responsibility for loans not working out but havent seen many Wells Fargo employees protesting at their homes.
Blaming the banks only takes the focus off the people that need to help this country change...politicians. They love that all the focus is on private institutions so they can continue to do nothing and collect a paycheck for it. Wells and other banks took the "bailout" (TARP) because they were FORCED! to take it by the government, and some including Wells and US Bank paid it back as soon as the Feds let them. Other institutions called investment banks like Bear Stearns and Leahmen Brothers are the ones that deserve the protests and caused the mess. As for foreclosures, if you pay what you agreed then you have a house, if you dont then you dont. Every person who has taken a mortgage knows this to be a reality.
Lake
Lakelander- If you dont want to pay interest on a mortgage then dont buy a house on borrowed money, pay for it yourself! The bank cant sell the house for "any price" because they loaned a certain amount on the house and want to recover as much money as possible to minimize loss. Keeping a non-performing asset on "their books" would be stupid!
What bail out
did Wells Fargo take???? They took NO TARP money. Do the research before you state facts. They did pay back TARP but that was because they purchased a major bank Wachovia (I think) that still went bankrupt after they took the TARP. The TARP money was a loan that could not be written off through bankruptcy.
The thing that most people do not know is that the tarp money was not a gift. Banks paid back the money with interest and a penalty. The penalty was up to 20% plus interest. What a deal for the banks!!!!
The big question that these watch dogs should be looking at, where is the paid back TARP money, where is the paid back bail out of GM and Chrysler? There does not seem to be an accounting for it. It is never subtracted from anything that is said about the cost of bail outs. This is in the hundreds of billions. If it is accounted for the true cost of the bail outs and stimulus money is even higher.
Yes I am a distant relative of the CEO of Wells Fargo. That is why I follow the what happens. And no he has not helped me in business in any way.
Good points,
Good points, kstumpf.
Besides, I thought Obama's banking and credit card reforms took care of all this stuff?
I know it raised CC rates on those with good credit. Mine went up 50%, from 4% to 6%. Good thing I don't carry balances.
Thanks Obama!
Sluss needs better info
He said, “That and we had to bail out Wells Fargo and the other major banks. Wells Fargo got $25 billion in bailout, TARP money and its CEO last year made $17.6 million in salary. The company also paid no corporate taxes the last three years.”
- First WF repaid the TARP money, with interest (which was actually in the form of dividends on the preferred stock). See: http://bailoutsleuth.com/09/12/496/wells-fargo-citigroup-repay-tarp-money/
- And second, where is Sluss' info on WF not paying taxes? This public income statement shows $6.338 Billion and $5.331 Billion paid for years 2010 and 2009, respectively. Am I missing something? See the financials here: http://finance.yahoo.com/q/is?s=WFC+Income+Statement&annual
Now I have never posted to any of these comments, but I couldn't help myself after reading this article. I hope this Sluss guys' mis-information isn't taken as fact. The Dispatch should note the error in his statements.
loupie
Please don't confuse the Brainerd OWS protesters with the facts, they like made up fairy tales. As for the dispatch good luck getting them to print that, they are a news organization and they are not intrested in the truth.
wow ...
"Sluss said the group chose Wells Fargo because after doing some research, they discovered a significant number of housing foreclosures in Brainerd were mortgages held by Wells Fargo."
really? the largest bank in the US has the most foreclosures? I just can't find the logic in that ....
explain to us
Wells Fargo is not some innocent player with the government.
"DES MOINES, Iowa -- Wells Fargo & Co. said Tuesday it has agreed to pay at least $37 million in a lawsuit which alleges several banks rigged bidding competitions to win business from state and local governments."
Not a Wells Fargo fan but...
I have my mortgage through them and went through a tough time financially 18 months ago. They worked with us to keep our house by giving us almost a year of no payments and then upping our payments about $75 a month to make up for it (all the original loan terms stayed the same). It was a hassle but they worked with us and now we are actually paying extra principle each month. People aren't willing to put in the effort to call their banks and do a workout plan when they need to...it is easier to just give up.
Take responsibility!
This whole mess is a vicious cycle. If banks forgave all the mortgages and debt owed to them by individuals who say they can't pay, we wouldn't have banks anymore. They are getting hit left and right. Banking is a tough business right now. Everyone made mistakes during the good times that they are paying for now. Everyone must do their best to take responsibility for themselves and pay what they owe instead of laying down like many people want to do. You can't just live in a house that you aren't paying for. Someone has to pay for it. Banks are hurting too due to people laying down on their responsibilities. These bankers are damned if they do and damned if they don't! Take responsibility for yourself people. You loved the banks when they were giving you money. Now that you don't want to pay it back, they are the bad guys.
maverick mom
That is impressive. Did they start foreclosure procedures during this time?
All right, I'm the guy in the video in the gray sweatshirt...
Holding my 3-year-old, and I'd like to make clear that I stopped to talk to people about their signs and what they meant.
I am in no way affiliated with the "Occupy" movement, and frankly I disagree with the vast majority of what it stands for. I wanted to find out differing views and foster some genuine discussion with those who disagree with me.
While I found most there were very nice people, the idea that banks are more to blame for loans approved than those who asked for the loan in the fist place is ridiculous. Personal accountablity falls by the wayside in face of "but it's not fair!" rhetoric.
I found amusing the "honk if you're not a millionaire" sign, which of course provoked constant honking. Why was this amusing? Because there were multiple occasions in which the person honking was towing a boat, or driving a car worth at least ten grand. One must at least ask why a system that allows people such luxurious items is attacked and questioned by those same people.
Additionally interesting was the number of people in the protest who were taking pictures with their wonderful cell phones, or smoking, or wearing relatively expensive styles of clothing. Again, if the system is holding so many down and making it "a struggle to make ends meet" (a common phrase used by those I talked to), why are many of the most upset people able to afford things beyond the trappings of roughly 75% of the world, or things that are merely "niceties?"
If you smoke, drink, go out to eat, rent movies, or otherwise spend "fun money," you should perhaps ask yourself how downtrodden you really are. And if a bad financial situation is the result of decisions you've made (as it was with me a few years back), why should anyone but you be held responsible for this?
While there are those who are donwntrodden and repressed in our society, I respectfully submit that those who are able to afford luxuries don't fall into that category. Nor do those (and this is more a reference to the national Occupy movement, not the one in Brainerd) who are able to take days or even weeks away from work in order to protest. Those who are genuinely downtrodden with no help don't have time for such things, as they're busy surviving.
Perhaps we should stop and ask ourselves if all the time and money being spent on the Occupy movement as a whole couldn't be better spent elsewhere. I'd suggest charitable volunteering and donations.
Again, those I talked to were very nice people who made good points about some of the problems with our system. However, as a whole this movement is not much more than a few "catch phrases" that don't logically follow the real problems we face today.
I write this only to clarify my stance, as any type of video showing me and my son would serve to make us look like part of a movement that I do not support.
Lakelander
Yes they did (a sheriff sale date scheduled and all!), it was unbelievably stressful but I kept in constant contact with them and it finally worked out. Banks don't WANT to foreclose on houses and they are all willing to work with people.
A gold star for Seth K.
A gold star for Seth K. Thanks for sharing your insight.
Stumpf
"WELLS TOOK NO TARP MONEY".....unless you count the 25 billion.
You may be the one without the facts (I think)