According to the Better World Shopping Guide, Bank of America is 20th on the list of the 20 worst companies. To formulate these rankings, the guide takes into account company records regarding Human Rights, The Environment, Animal Protection, Community Involvement, and Social Justice.
Bank of America is also number 3 on the list of top 10 Bailout companies and has been given a grade of 'F' on the list of banks in general. The 'F' grade is given to companies with the worst social and environmental records in the industry.
It's no secret that, in today's world, money really is power. This means that every dollar is some amount of power. It should also be noted that, when your money is in the bank, it does not simply sit in the bank waiting for you personally to spend it. The bank uses it for its own investments, projects, and gains. That's why it's important to make sure you actually support the things your bank supports. Today, I chose to exercise the power of my dollars (be it ever so meager) by closing my accounts at Bank of America.
It was kind of exciting to close my bank accounts. That is, it felt good to say, "I don't want to support the practices of this business. Therefore, I'm withdrawing my support from it." Although, I must admit that I didn't say those words explicitly. I had planned to say them. However, once in the bank and closing my accounts, I realized that the people working at the branch have almost nothing to do with the choices the company makes. They might even be Bank of America's biggest victims. It's impossible to know. But, I do know that they don't deserve any sort of righteous tongue-lashing. They deserve kindness and respect. So, I kept it simple and just closed my accounts without reason.
To be continued...
Join me later this week to find out where I choose to invest my powerful dollars instead!
Pick a good credit union!
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