We're currently hosting our discussions at Café Walnut, near the corner of 7th & Walnut in Olde City, just across the street from Washington Square Park. The cafe's entrance is below street level down some stairs, which can be confusing if it's your first time. Our group meets in the large room upstairs.
Since we're using the cafe's space, they ask that each person attending the meetup at least purchase a drink or snack. Please don't bring any food or drinks from outside.
The cafe is fairly easy to get to if you're using public transit. With SEPTA, take the Market-Frankford Line & get off at the 5th Street Station (corner of 5th & Market), and walk 2 blocks south on 5th and then turn right on Walnut Street and walk 2 blocks west. With PATCO, just get off at the 9th-10th & Locust stop and walk 3 blocks east & 1 block north. For those who are driving, I'd suggest parking in the Washington Square parking deck at 249 S 6th Street which is just a half block away.
DO OUR BANKS NEED REFORM... OUR A REVOLUTION?
ANALYZING THE DEBATES OVER FIAT CURRENCIES, THE FEDERAL RESERVE, FRACTIONAL RESERVE BANKING & "TOO BIG TO FAIL" BANKS
INTRODUCTION:
The 2008 financial crisis & the political divisions over the TARP bailouts and multiple rounds of economic stimulus deeply damaged many Americans' faith in the banking system. Even though a decade has passed and the economy has mostly recovered, the anger & mistrust that the crisis engendered have continued to influence politics in successive waves, starting with the rise of the Tea Party in 2009, then the Occupy Wall Street movement in 2011, then the dueling populisms of Bernie Sanders & Donald Trump in the 2016 election both of whom promised radical banking reforms, and now in the recent Democratic presidential debates where several candidates - namely Bernie Sanders & Elizabeth Warren - have promised renewed action to reign in the power of Wall Street and reduce the risk of another financial crisis.
When the financial crisis hit in 2008 and 57% of Americans said the "Troubled Asset Relief Program" (TARP) was the right thing to do. However, by 2012, public opinion shifted so that 52% of Americans thought bailing out the banks through TARP was the wrong thing to do. By 2013, sizable majorities said government policies have helped large banks, large corporations and wealthy people, while roughly seven-in-ten said government policies did little or nothing to help the poor, the middle class and small businesses. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/09/20/majority-of-americans-say-banks-large-corporations-benefitted-most-from-u-s-economic-policies/
In October of 2018, the Skeptics had a meetup entitled "Globalization & Conspiracy Theories" and in the 2nd & 3rd sections they discussed Naomi Klein's book "The Shock Doctrine" and John Perkins' book "Confessions of an Economic Hitman" which made a lot of allegations about unethical & illegal activities by investment banks in the Third World: https://www.meetup.com/Philly-Skeptics/events/255269097/
Later in October of 2018, the Skeptics had a meetup entitled "Do Bankers Rule the World" where we examined how political enmities & widespread financial illiteracy has given rise to conspiracy theories about the Rothschilds, J.P. Morgan, the gold standard, and Goldman Sachs. The Skeptics will resists this topic later today with a slightly altered discussion outline that addresses misconceptions about the Federal Reserve instead of the gold standard. Here's a link to the 2 discussion outlines: https://www.meetup.com/Philly-Skeptics/events/255695734/ https://www.meetup.com/Philly-Skeptics/events/rgrhxqyznbjb/
Back in June of 2019, the Skeptics had a meetup entitled "Neoliberals, Neocons & NWO 2.0" and in the 1st & 2nd sections they discussed Bill Clinton's "Third Way" economic policies - including the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act - and role of the World Economic Forum at Davos at promoting "neoliberal" economic policies internationally. https://www.meetup.com/Philly-Skeptics/events/nfbkqqyzhbjc/
