This one I could hardly believe.
What is it they say about a fool and his money?
"Donors throw their money at debt problem; Gifts actually go to Treasury fund; some feel deceived" July 26, 2011|By Cezary Podkul, Washington Post
WASHINGTON - As President Obama and Congress struggle to tame the nation’s runaway borrowing, a stream of checks, cash, and even gold coins is pouring into a post office box in West Virginia where, for years, people who want to help pay down the national debt have been able to send gifts.
(Blog editor simply shakes his head from side to side)
Related: 43 Mass. post offices may be closed
What, no money coming government's way?
“I love my country. I don’t want it in debt like this. I don’t want it having a financial crisis,’’ said Jane Olive, a retired teacher in Las Vegas who sent $100 to the box this month.
How can a teacher be so stupid?
But the contributions don’t specifically go to pay off existing debt. The government deposits them in the Treasury Department’s general fund, in essence the government’s main checking account.
“The gifts go toward funding the federal government, not to pay off the debt,’’ said Mckayla Braden, a spokeswoman for the Bureau of the Public Debt....
Some contributors feel misled.
“I’m very disappointed,’’ Olive said after learning from a reporter that her gift will go into the general fund.
I recognize the feeling.
She had felt so strongly about helping get the United States out of hock that she had e-mailed friends and relatives, urging them to make similar donations. Some did. But now, she said, “I can’t encourage my friends to sacrifice extra money.’’
Beginning to understand my anti-tax sentiments?
Chuck Landenberger, 79, a retired postal worker in Hawaii whose father lobbied Congress to pass the law enabling the public to make the gifts, was also dismayed.
“There should not be that money available for the Congress to spend after the contributor has said, ‘I want it to reduce the debt,’ ’’ he said.
Since President Kennedy signed the law into effect in June 1961, people have donated about $81.7 million to help retire the public debt, federal records show.
That's a pee drop in an ocean of trillions.
Related: John F. Kennedy vs. The Federal Reserve
Is it strange that I miss him more and more with each passing day despite the fact that he was killed over 47 years ago?
The gifts are tax-deductible and can be submitted electronically or via mail to PO Box 2188 in Parkersburg, W.Va., which is maintained by the Bureau of the Public Debt’s Parkersburg office.
About 30 to 50 gifts come into the Post Office box each month, said Kimberley Krupinski, supervisor of accounts receivable at the Parkersburg office. The average gift is less than $500.
Sometimes two suckers are born.
The donations are often accompanied by letters, such as one from a war veteran expressing gratitude for a successful surgery, and another from an immigrant expressing thanks to his adopted country, Krupinski said.
I see one of the vets got lucky.
“A lot of them are doing it out of patriotism and their love for America,’’ she added.
:-(
That's what they think propping up Wall Street criminals and maintaining a mass-murdering empire is?
In return, donors get a thank-you letter from the bureau, saying, “Your contribution will help ensure that we do not burden future generations with a huge debt.’’ No specifics are offered about how the money is used.
You guys already have burdened them beyond belief; however, can you imagine some foolish shmuck getting his thank-you note and being all proud?
My question is why isn't the government giving out T-shirts with a saying like"I helped the government loot me and all I got was this crummy T-shirt?"
--more--"
You getting out your checkbook, readers?
