Alternative Banking | Activity. Meet the Financial Wizards Working With Occupy Wall Street. Cathy O'Neil, a participant in the Alternative Banking GroupJosh Harkinson High up in a Manhattan conference room on Sunday, a group of investment gurus discussed Occupy Wall Street. Should they support a set of tough-sounding financial reforms just proposed on the campaign trail by presidential candidate Jon Huntsman? Or was it reasonable to demand even deeper reforms? "This isn't enough," argued Cathy O'Neil, a former hedge fund quant who organizes the group, a branch of Occupy Wall Street known as the Alternative Banking Group.
She proposed that the gathering of financial experts come up with improvements to Huntsman's plan and present them to Occupy Wall Street's General Assembly. As unlikely as it may have seemed when protesters first descended on New York's financial center this fall, an increasing number of Wall Street insiders are now returning the favor, you might say, by occupying Occupy Wall Street.
The Alternative Banking Group's meetings can get contentious. Alternative banking group - The Daily Occupation. Mother Jones has an article about the Alternative Banking Group, an arm of the Occupy Wall Street protests that has received support from the New York GA. In addition to helping OWS propose meaningful reforms and navigate the ins and outs of financial agencies, they also provide education and outreach.
The article follows Cathy O’Neil of the group in particular, giving a look into her mindset and what led her to join OWS: After studying number theory at Harvard and completing a mathematics post-doc at MIT, [O'Neil] joined D.E. Shaw in 2007, where her job was to use mathematical reasoning and statistical modeling to predict movements in the market. Three months into her job, the stock market dipped, a hedge fund failed, and her firm lost a ton of money. She started to question many of the assumptions underpinning her work. [...] By this summer, O’Neil was working at an internet advertising company in SoHo when she heard about Occupy Wall Street.
(Emphasis editor’s.) The Occupy Money Cooperative. The Occupy Card. The Occupy Card will provide the basic financial services that people need and use on a daily basis without the cost, or the balances required for a regular bank account.The Occupy Card will be an individual’s debit card, a savings facility, and a “virtual checkbook” all rolled into one easy-to-use package: a “bank on a card”.
The Occupy Card is an innovative financial product that everyone can use. There will be no upfront cost. The card will be 99c per month. –When was the last time you saw a cents sign for anything, let alone a financial service? This card will directly tackle the concerns of the unbanked and the underbanked. The Occupy Card will be a highly useful, high-quality product, based on an innovative concept and platform. Who is Behind the OccupyCard?
Founding Board The Occupy Money Cooperative is governed by a board of directors who will guide the development of the Coop in its early days. Carne Ross Carne Ross is a trained negotiator, economist, and author. Robert Hockett.