Fuck banks. If you have access to a credit union, put your money there.
Yes. Banks are no different from any other capitalist enterprise. They are owned by the capital class and the labor of the workers is exploited to make them vast amounts of money. Even your local bank with only a small handful of branches is likely owned by the wealthiest people in town (and plenty of wealthy people out of town).
Credit unions, the customers are the owners. There are no capitalists that own it and extract surplus value. Profits are given to customers. Now... of course this doesn't eliminate exploitation. The workers still don't own the means of production nor do they have democracy in the workplace. Essentially, instead of capitalists you have customers. But personally I find this to be a better setup than a bank and given the fact that participation in the banking system is mandatory for everyone, a credit union is the best way to participate given bad choices.
Also credit unions aren't investment banks gambling with your money on shady securities. Glass Stegall act repeal created the last CDO housing bubble, but credit unions walked away unscathed
The money also stays in the local community rather than going to wall street/private investors since they're not for profit. This means any "profit" is returned to the customers in the form of lower loan rates, credit card interest rates, and generally savings account rates that will be better than the average bank. Miscellaneous fees are also lower and I've found them more lenient on waiving fees too (like overdraft.) Members of credit unions can also usually vote on who runs the credit union.
They're not perfect as stated elsewhere in this thread, but I'm so glad to use them over some scummy bank. As far as I'm concerned, the only real downside is that some are really small, so they won't necessarily offer the same customer experience you'd get from the biggest banks. Things like online/mobile banking interface, turnaround times, customer service etc. Or, for example, if your account/card is frozen or you have some pressing issue at a weird time of day/night you won't as easily get help compared to a big bank who will have 24/7 service. But I have to say, every credit union I've ever used has had the absolute friendliest workers who seem to actually like their jobs compared to bank workers when I used them.
If you live in a larger urban area, the credit unions will likely be extremely comparable and will offer you all that you'll generally need, but it's something to keep in mind depending on your financial situation.
Finally, like everything, research the credit union. Some can be scummy like banks, or serve members in the worst industries . But ultimately, I always always always recommend them to people over a bank. We live in shitty capitalist society and banking is essential for the myriad of day to day functions, so I think it's wise of leftists to choose the option that won't funnel money to wall street who profit off shitty fees banks impose on the working class.
Well at least they aren't using your savings to gamble on defense industry futures. I mean, if you are going to bank which unfortunately a lot of people have to, stay the fuck away from citibank, wells Fargo, etc etc.
Buy the beer your friend is brewing, get take out from your homies restaurant, but absolutely fuck capitalism.
