>>BANK OF AMERICA HAS STATED THAT IT WOULD LIKE TO DO ITS
PART TO HELP MITIGATE THE MASS SHOOTINGS THAT WE ARE
EXPERIENCING THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY, SO THEY HAVE COME UP
WITH AN IDEA THAT I ACTUALLY DON'T AGREE WITH, AND I'M
CURIOUS TO SEE WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT IT.
LET ME GIVE THE
DETAILS --
>>
>>CITIGROUP ALSO HAS PLAYED A ROLE IN TAKING SOME SORT OF
POLITICAL ACTION TO PREVENT MASS SHOOTINGS --
>>
>>LET'S TALK ABOUT THE STRATEGY BANK OF AMERICA IS USING.
WHILE
I LIKE THAT STRATEGY WHEN IT COMES TO THIS ISSUE, I'M
UNCOMFORTABLE WITH BANKS MAKING DECISIONS ON LOANS BASED ON
POLITICS.
I THINK IT SETS A BAD PRECEDENT, I THINK WE SHOULD
HAVE LAWMAKERS WHO DRAFT LEGISLATION, PASSED LEGISLATION,
AND LOOK OUT FOR US AS THEIR CONSTITUENTS AND AS THE AMERICAN
PEOPLE.
I DON'T LIKE THE IDEA OF BANKS DECIDING WHO THEY ARE
GOING TO GIVE LOANS TO BASED ON POLITICAL OPINIONS.
>>BUT I'M SURE THEY ALREADY DO, RIGHT?
IF SOMEBODY IS A FRINGE
POLITICAL PLAYER AND THEY WANT MONEY FOR THEIR FRINGE
POLITICAL, YOU KNOW, THEY COULD MAKE AN ASSESSMENT,
THEORETICALLY I SUPPOSE THAT WOULD BE A FINANCIAL DECISION,
THAT IT'S FRINGE MONEY AND MIGHT NOT BE SUCCESSFUL, BUT I CAN SEE
THEM ALREADY MAKING DECISIONS LIKE THAT, THAT AREN'T JUST
FINANCIAL.
WHO DO THEY WANT TO BE IN BUSINESS WITH?
IF THIS
WERE AN OLD-TIME LOCAL COMMUNITY BANK IT WOULD WORK BOTH WAYS,
LIKE, WE WANT TO DO BUSINESS WITH FRED, HE RUNS THE COUNTY
STORE, I KNOW HE IS STRUGGLING BUT WHAT IS THIS TOWN WITHOUT
FRED'S COUNTY STORE?
THAT SOUNDS LIKE SOMETHING THAT WOULD HAPPEN
IN THE 80S.
THE 1880S.
>>I DON'T LOVE IT, I THINK IT'S A REALLY BAD IDEA.
AND MAYBE
THERE HAVE BEEN CASES IN THE PAST WHERE THEY HAVE INSTITUTED
THIS TYPE OF POLICY, I DON'T AGREE WITH IT.
I THINK IT SHOULD
BE BASED ON THE NUMBERS.
CAN THIS PERSON PAY THE LOAN BACK?
>>I GOT YOU, IT SHOULD BE BASED ON THAT, BUT THEN TO THEY ALSO
HAVE A DECISION -- IF THEY CAN PAY IT BACK, NO MATTER WHAT IT
IS, UNLESS IT'S A CRIME -- I'M GOING TO DISAGREE WITH YOU.
I
HEAR YOU, AND I SUPPOSE ONE COULD ARGUE IT'S A SLIPPERY
SLOPE --
>>LET ME GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE.
IF WE START ALLOWING THEM TO MAKE
LOAN DECISIONS BASED ON POLITICS, IMAGINE CITIGROUP, WE
HAVE DONE SOME COVERAGE ON CITIGROUP THAT HAS NOT BEEN VERY
NICE, SO IMAGINE WE AS THE YOUNG TURKS DECIDE THAT WE NEED A LOAN
IN ORDER TO EXPAND THE COMPANY, HOW WOULD WE FEEL IF CITIGROUP
OR CITIBANK DECIDED WE AREN'T GOING TO GIVE YOU THAT LOAN, WE
DON'T NECESSARILY AGREE WITH YOUR RHETORIC?
>>I WOULDN'T CARE HOW WE FEEL, RIGHT?
HOW WE FEEL IS IRRELEVANT.
HOW MOST PEOPLE FEEL IS IRRELEVANT MOST OF THE TIME.
>>I GET WHAT YOU ARE SAYING BUT I THINK IT HAS RAMIFICATIONS.
IT'S A FORM OF CENSORSHIP.
I KNOW IT ISN'T THE GOVERNMENT,
IT'S NOT A CONSTITUTIONAL VIOLATION, BUT I DON'T WANT
BANKS GETTING INTO THE BUSINESS OF MAKING DECISIONS BASED
ON POLITICS.
>>I HEAR YOU.
THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS IF THEY START
CENSORING WELL-MEANING LEFT-WING GROUPS I'LL OBJECT TO IT.
BUT I
DON'T KNOW THAT WE NEED TO SET THE RULE HERE.
YOU HURT PEOPLE
WHERE IT COUNTS, THAT IS WITH MONEY, AND I APPLAUD BANK OF
AMERICA FOR STANDING UP HERE.
WHEN YOU MAKE THE DECISION TO
LOAN IT'S NOT ONLY BASED ON WHETHER YOU CAN REPAY THE LOAN.
>>I THINK FOR BIG BANKS FOR THE MOST PART IT HAS BEEN.
>>PROBABLY.
>>THEY ARE AMORAL MACHINES.
>>SOMETIMES THEY WANT TO DO BUSINESS WITH PEOPLE.
LORD KNOWS
A LOT OF BANKS LENT MONEY TO TRUMP THINKING THE ENTIRE TIME
IT'S A BAD DEAL, HE FREQUENTLY DOESN'T PAY US BACK, BUT WE ARE
IN BUSINESS WITH TRUMP AND THAT PAYS OFF IN THE END.
SO THEY MAY
THINK IF WE DO BUSINESS, WE ARE LENDING TO AR-15 MANUFACTURERS
IN THE CURRENT CLIMATE, WE MIGHT LOSE OTHER BUSINESS FROM PEOPLE
WHO RESENT WE ARE DOING THAT, AND WE MIGHT GET SOME BUSINESS
THAT WE WOULDN'T OTHERWISE BECAUSE WE ARE THE BANK THAT
STOOD UP AND DIDN'T DO THAT.
SO THEY CAN MAKE AN ARGUMENT THAT
IT'S A FINANCIAL DECISION.
I ADMIRE IT BECAUSE I DON'T THINK
-- I DON'T SEE IT LEADING TO WHAT YOU FEAR.
BUT I SUPPOSE IT COULD.
>>I THINK THERE IS NOT ALL THE NEUTRALITY WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE
IN THE BANKING BUSINESS THAT PERHAPS IS PRESUMED BY YOUR
ASSUMPTION.
>>NO, BY THE WAY I'M NOT ASSUMING THERE IS NEUTRALITY.
LIKE I SAID, I'M SURE THERE HAVE BEEN CASES WHERE THEY HAVE
MADE DECISIONS BASED ON POLITICS, AND I'M AGAINST
THOSE DECISIONS AS WELL.
>>I GUESS I'M TALKING ABOUT COMMERCIAL NEUTRALITY AS OPPOSED
TO POLITICAL.
ALTHOUGH YOU COULD SAY EVERYTHING IS POLITICAL IN A
WAY.
I'M TAKING OF THINGS LIKE GAMBLING, OFTEN YOU CAN'T DO
CERTAIN THINGS WITH A CREDIT CARD IF YOU ARE GAMBLING, OR YOU
CAN'T DO CERTAIN THINGS WITH A CREDIT CARD IF YOU ARE INVOLVED
IN BUYING MARIJUANA.
AND WHEN YOU GO INTO A BANK FOR A LOAN
FOR A DANCE CLUB IN SOME AREA THAT THEY EVALUATE IS NOT A GOOD
INVESTMENT FOR YOUR DANCE CLUB, EVEN THOUGH YOU SEEM A SOLID,
POTENTIAL RECIPIENT OF THE MONEY, THEY LOOK AT THE PROPOSAL
AND SAY WE DON'T NECESSARILY -- I GUESS I'M TRYING TO SAY
THERE'S A GRAY AREA IN THE BANKING WORLD, I KNOW YOU ARE
SUGGESTING THAT INDEED THERE IS, BUT THIS IS SO CLEARLY A
POLITICAL DECISION, AND IT'S SORT OF WHAT BEN IS SAYING, THEY
WANT TO BE DOING SOMETHING, THEY WANT TO MAKE A STATEMENT.
>>IF THEY ARE MAKING A STATEMENT BECAUSE THEY BELIEVE IT WILL
HELP THEM, YOU KNOW, WITH OTHER CUSTOMERS WHO WILL COME TO THEM
BECAUSE THEY LIKE THIS, IF IT'S A FINANCIAL DECISION THEN OKAY,
THERE'S MORE OF A CASE TO BE MADE.
BUT IF IT'S PURELY
POLITICAL, AGAIN, IT'S ONE THING TO --
>>WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE POLITICAL?
WHY CAN'T IT BE
PRINCIPLED?
LEAVE OUT POLITICS, THEY THINK THAT THE SCOURGE OF
MASS SHOOTINGS WITH AR-15S IS A MASSIVE DETRIMENT TO SOCIETY,
UNDERMINES THE AMERICAN DREAM, HAS A CHILLING EFFECT ON THE
ENJOYMENT OF LIFE FOR ALL OF US, AND THEY WANT TO TAKE A STAND
AGAINST THAT?
>>BANKS CAN TWIST THAT SAME ARGUMENT AND APPLY IT TO BUSINESSES THAT
WE AS LIBERALS ARE VERY MUCH IN FAVOR OF, OR ORGANIZATIONS
WE ARE IN FAVOR OF, LIKE PLANNED PARENTHOOD FOR INSTANCE.
>>I THINK WE SHOULD STAND WITH PEOPLE WHO TAKE --
>>DON'T GET ME WRONG, I HATE WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE
COUNTRY, I WANT GUN CONTROL MORE THAN ANYTHING.
IT'S JUST SO SAD THAT WE CAN'T RELY ON OUR LAWMAKERS TO DO
THEIR JOBS.
>>BUT WE CAN'T.
>>WE CLEARLY CAN'T.
>>I HEAR YOU, YOUR ARGUMENT IS A VALID ONE THAT SHOULD BE
CONSIDERED, BUT UNTIL EVIDENCE TO THE CONTRARY I'M PREPARED TO
LET BANK OF AMERICA DO THE RIGHT THING.
>>FAIR ENOUGH.
>>RELEVANT TO THAT STORY AT ONE POINT I SAID THE COUNTY STORE, I
JUST LIKE WHEN PEOPLE CALL ME OUT -- ST.
JOHN WRITES WHAT IS A
COUNTY STORE?
AS I WAS SAYING IT I WAS LIKE, I THINK I MEAN
GENERAL STORE.
>>IT'S TOUGH IN THE MIDDLE OF A THOUGHT TO DOUBLE BACK.
>>WHAT IS A COUNTY STORE?
I DON'T KNOW, NOBODY DOES.