Cancel Wall Street - Action Center on Race and the Economy

Fighting COVID Austerity by Canceling Wall Street

State and local government officials from across the country are preparing to unleash devastating cuts to public services in light of the decline in tax revenues that the pandemic has caused. Shredding the social safety net to “balance the budget” will leave our communities more vulnerable to future waves of COVID-19 and the public health and climate crises to come. Black, Latinx, and Indigenous communities will continue to bear the brunt of the fall-out. *And the solution is simple.* Our state and local elected officials need to band together and demand that both Wall Street banks and the Federal Reserve provide zero-interest loans to public sector borrowers. Collectively, that puts $160 billion back into our communities. #CancelWallStreet

The real savings in this proposal come from wiping out the $160 billion in annual interest payments that state and local governments currently make.

Use the custom calculator below to see how much your state, city, county, school district, transit system, or higher education institute could save from direct Fed lending.

Wall Street banks, credit rating agencies, and wealthy bondholders have rigged the system to maximize their profits at the expense of tax payers. We need to redesign the system to preserve taxpayer money so we can maximize funding for essential services.

A breakdown of major cities like Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and New York:

CHICAGO

Chicago spends $1,139,055,000 a year on interest payments. This could pay to:

Help 74,042 families avoid eviction*
Extend $600/week Pandemic Unemployment Assistance for 237,303 people for eight weeks
Provide Internet access to all CPS students for distant learning (cost $21,309,360)

LOS ANGELES

Los Angeles spends $1,083,141,000 a year on interest payments. This could pay to:

Help 51,875 families avoid eviction*
Extend $600/week Pandemic Unemployment Assistance for 226,654 people for eight weeks
Provide Internet access to all LAUSD students for distant learning (cost $36,000,000)

HOUSTON

Houston spends $551,049,000 a year on interest payments. This could pay to:

Help 44,932 families avoid eviction*
Extend $600/week Pandemic Unemployment Assistance for 114,802 people for eight weeks
Provide Internet access to all HISD students for distant learning (cost $12,639,660)

NEW YORK CITY

New York City spends $3,752,417,000 a year on interest payments. This could pay to:

Help 126,805 families avoid eviction*
Extend $600/week Pandemic Unemployment Assistance for 781,754 people for eight weeks
Provide Internet access to all NYC public school students for distant learning (cost $67,590,060)

*based on the median cost of renting a two-bedroom apartment for a year