ABSTRACT
American society is characterized by extreme concentration of private ownership and control of capital. At the end of 1974 there were more than 14,000 commercial banks in the United States with total deposits; yet just four banks. The United Mine Workers own 75 percent of the National Bank of Washington, which has operated for many years as the union's in-house bank. The new head of the mine workers, Arnold Miller, has shown little interest in the possible progressive uses of the bank, however, and suggested that the union sell its interest in the institution. The earliest pension plans were established in the United States after the Civil War. The principal reasons for establishing pension plans were to promote loyalty to the corporation and to make it easier to squeeze out older workers when they became less productive. After a long legislative battle in Congress, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) was passed in 1974.
