I’m not sure why I stayed with Wells Fargo so long — cuz it SUCKS. This bank’s idea of free checking has so many restrictions that it’s quite definitively not free. I s’pose I’m lazy, cuz I’ve been with them since 1999…
And worse, Wells Fargo forks over a good chunka change to the Republican party. Gross.
But that all changed yesterday, when I opened a checking & savings account with Bank of the West.
Bank of the West’s one of the few more-blue-than-red banks out there. And luckily, I’ve got a branch in walking distance, at Colorado and 4th in Santa Monica.
The best part of the transaction — Jason, the sweet and cute boy who helped me open my account, went through a lil questionnaire when I said I wanted to do biz with Bank of the West. The first Q: Why Bank of the West?
I went into a long shpiel about how I didn’t want my moolah going to Republicans and how Bank of the West was the only leftish-leaning bank I could find in the area.
Jason patiently listened to me, wide-eyed. Then he nodded, and jotted things down.
Anyway… I got my new account, and I’m psyched. We’re talking really free checking — no minimum deposit, no check limits, etc. etc. And for an internet age girl, I’m psyched about the free online banking options — including free billpay.
I’m not toally free of Wells Fargo yet — some outstanding checks will keep me from closing that thing for a coupla months. But I’ve taken a definitive first step –
How come the party colours are reversed in the US?
Must have been an odd feeling being an republican in the US watching the big red flag whenever the Soviets won anything in the Olympics :-)
Comment by Johan — August 4, 2006 @ 3:44 am
An important first step, definitely!!!
Comment by Gernot — August 4, 2006 @ 10:01 am
Hey Johan — Wikipedia has an explanation of sorts. Look under “Origins of current color scheme”:
“until the 2000 election, there was no consensus on color schemes among the networks. For example, from 1972 until at least 1992, NBC consistently showed Republican-won states in blue, and Democratic-won states in red. But other networks used other patterns. ABC, in at least two presidential elections during this time, used yellow for one major party and blue for the other. However, in 2000, for the first time ever, all the major broadcast networks and all the cable news outlets utilized the same color scheme: red for Republicans and blue for Democrats.”
Comment by Siel — August 4, 2006 @ 4:18 pm
…forgot to add a link - Wells Fargo
Comment by Gernot — August 5, 2006 @ 5:20 am
And worse, Wells Fargo forks over a good chunka change to the Republican party. Gross.
But that all changed yesterday, when I opened a checking & savings account with Bank of the West. Bank of the West’s one of the few more-blue-than-red banks out there. And luckily, I’ve got a branch in walking distance, at Colorado and 4th in Santa Monica.
America is a seriously messed up country. I just can’t understand that statement
Comment by simon — August 5, 2006 @ 3:20 pm
Y’all can consider a credit union, which tends to avoid the red-blue thing altogether.
E-banking also opens your options.
For example, I got a Salmon Nation credit card through an Oregon Bank called Shorebank Pacific (www.eco-bank.com). They are pro-environment. I was sad to leave my TNC credit card operated by MBNA. MBNA is the biggest republican donor in the country, undoing any good my tiny contributions do for The Nature Conservancy.
Comment by Rafi — September 28, 2006 @ 2:31 pm
Hmmm… Maybe I should finally join the USC credit union? Will look into that –
Comment by Siel — September 28, 2006 @ 9:23 pm
Credit unions are definitely the way to go.
Comment by don hosek — January 18, 2007 @ 10:46 am