Monday, October 19, 2009

Speaking Of Debts And Deficits

Unncle Sam's been kind of counting on no one noticing there are a lot of old government bonds out there, mature and unclaimed, dating back as far as WW II. --But would you not just know, several State governments have noticed and filed suit -- 'cos they figure they should have the money, bein' all set up as they are to reunite lost bux with citizens...um, citizens they cannot even be sure are still in their State or even alive.

The article cites "billions of dollars" waiting to be claimed. Gosh, I wonder who gets it if the States can't find the rightful owners? A-hem.

The U. S. Treasury sez, "Not so fast!" and points out they have a website all set up for you, the public they serve, to claim your forgotten bonds. Yessir, fix you right up....well, fix you right up if you bought the bond after 1974; so those War Bonds? You're on your own, kid.

Heads, they win; tails, you lose.

2 comments:

TJP said...

Roughly fifteen years ago, Connecticut seized thousands of "inactive" private bank accounts for no particular purpose, and no one really noticed.

The problem with running government budgets on the bleeding edge, just because it seems possible, is that every little blip on the economic graph turns local governments into savage tax pigs.

Fuzzy Curmudgeon said...

"Turns them into"?

Nah. It just brings out their inner savage tax pig that was always there, all along.

Just because local government is down at a level where you can talk pitchforks, tar and feathers and actually, you know, mean it,, doesn't mean that it won't try to stick it to you as hard as it can every chance it gets.