Global Banking Meltdown

& the Fundamentals in the Dimond

Jon Stewart has been killing me this week with commentary (and the lack thereof) regarding the collapses of various financial institutions. While some politicians say that healthy financial fundamentals remain in place and others place the blame on politicians few seem to actually be addresses the fundamentals of the situation: What does this mean for Americans? How will this effect Oakland? How will this impact non-profit organizations, such as the church I work for, in terms of the giving they rely upon for income?

So I was pleasantly surprised to see that Bank of America in the Dimond - even with the pricey purchase of Merrill Lynch - is forking out money to redo the sidewalks in front of our local branch to make it more equally and justly accessible for all Americans, whether they get around on feet or in a chair and whether they bank at BofA, WaMu or used to at Lehman Brothers. Of course coming back to the office I realized that it's probably the city/state that's paying for the construction. With the budget impasse that's probably all messed up to. Good thing my great-grandkids will eventually be working to pay off some of the bills.