Protestors march on Watsonville Chase branch
The Watsonville California Chase branch was treated to a visit by protesters claiming that Chase is not paying the proper amount of property taxes on properties recently acquired through foreclosure.
WATSONVILLE — Frustration with the banking industry became so great for a group of Central Coast residents Tuesday they paraded into a Chase bank and demanded payback for the financial havoc wreaked by the nation’s foreclosure crisis.
“We had a conversation with the branch manager, and he decided he didn’t want to talk to us. And he threw us out,” reported activist Erik Larsen. “(But) we’ll be back.” Larsen was met outside by some 50 cheering people, part of an event staged in several California cities this week to highlight the alleged indiscretions of banks. Though it’s been two years since a taxpayer bailout helped rescue the industry from overly risky behavior, organizers of Tuesday’s event sought to show that bank actions are continuing to burden average American households.
A report by the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, released in tandem with this week’s rallies, suggests that the financial industry is shorting taxpayers billions of dollars.
Among the group’s claims is that banks that changed hands during the bailout have not paid their updated property tax bill. No bank, according to the group, has settled up for the foreclosure toll they put on local governments for such expenses as additional neighborhood maintenance and public safety.
Bad bad Chase | admin August 12, 2010
