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THE BOOK

The U.S. financial system might be working for some people, but it’s not working for progressive people and causes. In fact, our financial system taps your money to pay for a conservative agenda.

It’s a “heads-they-win, tails-you-lose” game when the fees you pay to use your credit card are helping to finance fossil fuels even when you buy green products or organic foods.

Conservative “money muscle” shapes our culture, society, politics, and public policy.

With a call to action, two leaders from the world of progressive finance, Keith Mestrich and Mark A. Pinsky, propose a strategy to challenge this conservative dominance of the financial sector: organized progressive money. It’s a $10 trillion plan for a full-service, market-scale progressive financial network.

The authors explain how progressives can take control with financial institutions of their own and products that align with progressive values.

Organized Money warns that until progressives organize their money, they will lose again and again while conservatives will keep winning. It’s a crucial message for the make-or-break 2020 election cycle, when American voters wlll be presented with a choice between conservative market fundamentalism that leaves them out or inclusive, restorative capitalism that is good for people as well as profits.

Written in clear, engaging prose for non-financial readers and finance leaders alike, Organized Money is required reading for everyone ready to confront the excesses of conservative power and influence.

THE CONTENT

Preface: The Problem

It’s a “heads they win, tails you lose” game. What are your odds?

Chapter 1: You and Your Money

If you don’t know how the financial system works, it probably doesn’t work for you.

Chapter 2: Market Fundamentalism

The financial system must be working for someone. Who?

Chapter 3: Missing the Opportunity

If you want to see how far off track we are, follow the money going to Opportunity Zones.

Chapter 4: What Is Money Muscle?

When you make yourself indispensable, you’re powerful.

Chapter 5: Progress in Mainstream Money

This is not the first time progressives have seen signs of change in conventional finance, sowhat’s different now?

Chapter 6: The Public-Purpose Economy

If you want to build a progressive financial system, you need a vision of the purpose it will serve.

Chapter 7: Pumping Progressive Money Muscle

Is progressive money muscle even a thing?

Chapter 8: Progressive Finance in the United States

We have a 250-year history of inclusive and progressive finance that is central to our economic and social gains. It is hidden in plain sight. It is surging now.

Chapter 9: The Foundation of a Progressive Finance Network

In practice, progressive financial institutions have many of the building blocks they need to begin assembling an infrastructure that works for them.

Chapter 10: Whose Wealth Is It Anyway?

Progressives have more wealth than most people know. Where is it? What is it doing?

Chapter 11: Organizing Progressive Money for Power and Influence

Progressives have never lacked ideas and vision. Organizing our money is an unprecedented strategy to power progressive gains.

Conclusion: Take a Shot!

We need to create the financial system Alexander Hamilton intended.

Authors’ Note

Abbreviations

Selected Resources

Notes

Index

THE AUTHORS

Keith Mestrich is the president and CEO of Amalgamated Bank, the nation’s leading socially responsible bank. With twenty-five years of experience working in the labor movement and nonprofit organizations, Keith is a leader in the effort to build wealth for a purpose, not just for a profit. He is a noted social justice leader and popular speaker.

Mark A. Pinsky led the $150 billion community development financial institutions (CDFI) industry for more than 20 years. With a track record of aligning capital with social, economic, environmental, and political justice, he was the strategic leader for the industry’s growth from less than $2 billion to its current scale. He is the author and editor of several books and speaks regularly on finance and society. He lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he runs Five/Four Advisors, a strategic consulting firm.