[rev_bird]

That's an interesting angle that I hadn't considered -- I get that it's unreasonable to ask banks to be a public trust AND a public corporation at the same time, but maybe separating the "for-profit business" side of things from the "financial services necessary to just be alive" side would be more productive for everyone. Just never occurred to me, for whatever reason.

Thinking more about it, this seems like a similar problem to one some states are running into with privatized prisons and "public" schools -- corporations are put in charge of public services and are doing a horrifying job in some cases, because their business is oriented toward profit, not "the public good." I'm not saying the companies are acting unreasonably, but maybe some things should just be set aside for something other than profit... firefighters come to mind.