NEW YORK–Actress and comedian Sarah Silverman has posted a video on Facebook in which she says she pulled all of her money out of a bank and put it in a credit union, and she’s urging others to do so, too.
The video, which is focused around Silverman’s objections to big oil, has had more than 9.8 million views.
“Like a lot of my friends, I feel helpless. I’ve got some ideas,” says Silverman in the video. “I just took all of my money out of my bank and brought it to a credit union.”
In this case Silverman said she did so due to opposition to the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline. Silverman said she realized it was banks that are financing construction of the pipeline, which means her funds are indirectly contributing to the project.
“We do have a voice. We can vote. We can protest. But another active thing we can do is watch where we spend our money…We have a ton of power in places we never even realized and one of those places is where we do our banking.”
But what’s a credit union? asks Silverman, addressing an issue frequently discussed within CUs themselves.
“A credit union is a bank, but it's not-for-profit. And once you put your money in it you are a part owner. You have a say in everything they do. It’s a cooperative. And they’re not charging little fees here and there so they can invest it in stuff like, say, oil pipelines. They’re safer, better, their rates are better, they still give loans, you can use ATMs, all that shit.”
The video can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/NowThisNews/videos/1368658269890960