Over $16 billion in unclaimed war bonds is the stakes which instigated a lawsuit of the states against the federal government, claiming the unclaimed cash should be sent to the states and not the Feds.
World War II was the scenario where the bonds were sold at extraordinary rates to Americans who were trying to help the “cause.”
The Treasury Department is the recipient of the lawsuit, where state attorneys general David Bishop, who is suing them on behalf of the states, said, “It’s better for the millions of Americans who are the rightful owners to have it returned to the states, because the states will make a real effort to find them. And if after searching for them they can’t find them, the money can go to work in the communities where the bonds were purchased.”
Of course the Web site is up for the purpose they Treasury Department can make this assertion, not because they’re concerned whether people request their money. It has been spent long ago, and would add to the burden of the government by having to come up with it now in the midst of budget shortfalls.
What is this all about? Budget shortfalls, as mentioned above. The governments in the U.S., whether federal, state, regional or local, are scrambling to find money to pay for their misguided promises to the people.
To me, what’s really sick about this is the various governments don’t think in terms of cutting back on spending and programs, rather they back the ongoing printing of money by the Federal Reserve in hopes it’ll stimulate something which will bring back money into their coffers. It’s not going to happen any time soon, and the sooner governments recognize that the better.
This is why they’re getting desperate to gain access to any cash they can, and are searching for any possible hidden money like these war bonds to get it.
Now you know why small and limited government is the way to go, and people need to understand that if we’re really going to get real change in America.
If the states were to win this case, what’s in it for them if they still must hold the bonds until the owners or their heirs claim them? It’s the interest generated from them, which can be used for whatever purposes the state governments choose.
It seems this case will boil down to constitutional issues, where the federal government is claiming the war bonds are a contract between the Treasury Department and their owners, making the states of no standing concerning them. The federal government will probably call for a dismissal of the lawsuit based on that argument.
