American Express Not So Friendly With American Bailout Money

The Religious Freedom Coalition reported that in November, 2008, just days after receiving billions of our tax dollars for a bail-out, American Express canceled credit lines of all their small business customers, making it impossible to buy inventory for Christmas and causing layoffs. At the same time American Express canceled the credit lines of non-profit organizations, including nonprofits like the Religious Freedom Coalition.

Today, Standard & Poor's cut its rating on American Express Co by one notch due to increasing financial pressure on consumer lenders, the rating company said. S&P cut its ratings for American Express by one step to "A," or five steps above junk, from "A-plus." The outlook is negative, suggesting more cuts may come.

American Express states its Corporate Responsibiliy as follows:

At American Express we believe that serving our communities is not only integral to running a business successfully, it is part of our individual responsibilities as citizens of the world. The mission of our program is to bring to life the American Express value of good corporate citizenship by supporting diverse communities in ways that enhance the company's reputation with employees, customers, business partners and other stakeholders. We do this by supporting visionary not-for-profit organizations that are:
Preserving and enriching our diverse cultural heritage
Developing new leaders for tomorrow
Encouraging community service where our employees and customers live and work

It appears that American Express was willing to apply and take our tax dollars to help bailout their business while at the same time not doing what was expected but instead shafted their clients: American small businesses and non-profit organizations. Are there any other Americans who would like their bailout (tax money) back from American Express?

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