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Average Americans create 40,000 personal bailout checks from the Bank of Obama Austin, TX, June 25, 2009 -- Bailouts for AIG losses or bad sub-prime mortgage investments? How about bailouts for cupcakes, fishing vacations, or Vegas gambling debts? These are just some of the 40,000 bailout checks created through the Bank of Obama website (http://www.BankOfObama.org). Launched this past February, the site allows users to customize their own bailout checks and send them to family and friends. Three friends in Austin, TX, decided to create the site after discussing their own bailout needs. Over 95,000 people have visited the website, and the founders say they reflect a good representation of the bailout needs of America. They have created a unique “scorecard” which shows the percentage of checks for each standard category. Most of checks have been sent for mortgage “relief”, but close behind are checks made out for shopping sprees and vacations. Co-founder Bill Solominsky says, “This shows that many Americans would initially act responsibly if given a blank check by paying off their mortgage, then they’d have a little fun.” The Bank of Obama web site allows its users to send a paper check through the mail or a virtual check via email. In less than two minutes they can be customized with the recipient’s name, the amount, category, and a personal note. The checks are not real and cannot be cashed for real money, but that hasn’t stopped thousands of Americans from sending them to their friends. “The idea from the start was to put a lighthearted spin on the recent economic news. Many people see the bailout as companies being rewarded for failure with the average person’s tax dollars. Our site was intended to bring everyone some humor by allowing folks to get their piece of an unlimited money supply. The response has been overwhelmingly positive, as seen by many of the tweets and comments on our site,” said Solominsky. Other interesting data can be seen in the fake bailout checks. Americans have been relatively frugal as only 10% of the checks have been made to the amount of one billion dollars or more. Paper checks have been sent to 45 of the 50 states, plus Washington, DC. 23% have been sent to the founders’ home state of Texas, while 8% have been shipped to California and, surprisingly, Obama’s home state of Illinois. About Bank of Obama: BankOfObama.org was founded in 2009 as a parody site to make light of the current economic situation. Headquartered in Austin, TX, Bank of Obama provides customized bailout checks to send to friends and family. Contact Information: Bill Solominsky ###
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