Listening just now to a radio interview with photographer Annie Leibowitz on WNYC, I heard Brian Lehrer ask if she had visited the Occupy Wall Street site yet. She had not, but it made me think of the move away from certain banks to credit unions, and that made me recall the Social Security Administration's plan to sign up all beneficiaries for direct deposit.
The SSA tried this a while back but met with a backlash from seniors, especially those who don't have bank accounts for various reasons. Now SSA requires Direct Deposit for new beneficiaries upon signup, and all others who don't already have it must comply by 2013.
If you are of an age soon to receive benefits or have relatives due for benefits, maybe you want to consider options ahead of time, such as credit unions. The controversy over banking practices is not likely to go away any time soon, and if you think banks have become too heavy-handed with fees and minimum balance requirements, look into the the possibilities.
Meanwhile, make sure you "occupy" a voting booth today to have a say on state legislators for the next two years and on other important offices
--Bernice
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I have been in a Credit Union since the mid 80's and love it. I have an account with one of the big banks, but have been moving away from them more and more year after year especially after they tried stinging me with massive rate increases on a perfect credit score credit card account due to "Such high level clients as myself needing to pay more so they could continue to provide me with exceptional service I deserve".
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