US Treasury Accepts Donations to Help Pay Off Public Debt

posted by Nima

November 17, 2009 · Posted in Government

In case you were wondering what to do with your money (or what’s left of it) this Christmas … the US Treasury’s Bureau of the Public Debt is accepting donations, this is NOT a joke as you can find on the Treasury’s own website:

How do you make a contribution to reduce the debt?

Make your check payable to the Bureau of the Public Debt, and in the memo section, notate that it is a Gift to reduce the Debt Held by the Public. Mail your check to:

Attn Dept G
Bureau of the Public Debt
P. O. Box 2188
Parkersburg, WV 26106-2188

Believe it or not, people do send checks:

According to Treasury spokesman Kim Treat, people do send checks. In the last fiscal year they added up to a little over $3 million, which was the highest total since at least 1996.

Some include notes. Common reasons for donating include a sense of patriotism and immigrants expressing their thanks to the United States for giving them an opportunity, he said.

It might be helpful to explain what this really means: When the government (that group which exerts a monopoly on organized theft, aka taxation) takes money from creditors (incurs a debt), in particular the governments of China, Japan, or Saudi Arabia, it guarantees repayment of that money at some point. Where does this money come from? It comes from taxes imposed. Who pays those taxes? It is you!

So if you think it is patriotic or necessary to thank our dear government by helping to pay off the public debt, then you need not worry: Whether you send in donation checks or not, you and your grandchildren will be paying down the debt plus the interest plus the interest on the interest sooner or later.