No more US Paper Bonds as of 12/31/11

[fadedrose]

It used to be that you could buy bonds at the bank or through forms from Treasury Direct.

You could fill in the form online, print it, and send with a check to a federal bank in Minnesota. They would mail a bond to the recipient.

If you didn't have a computer, you could call Treasury Direct and they would cheerfully mail you as many forms as you want, you filled them in by hand, and mailed with a check to the same bank in Minnesota.

Now you must create an account with Treasury Direct for yourself, and one for each of the people you want to buy a bond for, and you NEVER get a bond that you could hold, see, nor does the recipient. No paper bonds ever again....

I bought about seven $25 bonds last year and didn't finish getting them for all grandchildren when the plan ended. I want it restored. I would like to buy one $25 a month as would many who miss the plan. At the "Ask the President a Question" on YouTube last week, 9 people besides myself asked about renewing the bond program. Also put in a couple of posts to DU's General Discussion Group, and about 5 people agreed with me.

I sent emails to all the people on MSNBC - Maddow, Chris, Lawrence, and Radigan, the main office, my Senators in PA, the White House, VP Biden, Anderson Cooper, and I don't know who else. The only reply I got was from Senator Stabinow.

WWII was bought and paid for with bonds - no China involved. YTube still has photos of John Wayne asking us to buy bonds. I know from my own memory that they were pushed by Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Betty Grable and every Hollywood star. Why borrow from China when if they had big stars advertising them like they used to, people would buy them. I think that the banks can't stand to see people save without their greedy fingers getting involved. This is deplorable in my opinion.....

[shraby]

1. What was the reasoning behind no paper? I used to buy them for my grandkids too.

It was nice...they could hold it and understand they had a gift from gramma.

[CAPHAVOC]

2. Banks used to sell them.

[fadedrose]

3. I have no idea about the decision. I doubt it has anything to do with "reasoning"

Anytime I see something good that people can do without private corporations, some politician wants to hand it over to the people who sell insurance, stock or bank accounts.

I can think of no other reason.

You know, they not only paid for WWII, I may be wrong, but they probably also helped pay for the Marshall Plan that rebuilt Europe.

It was so sneaky the way it ended - hardly anyone knew who wasn't in the process of buying. I bought two on Dec. 18 for a grandchild and my son's girlfriend for Christmas. The bonds cam in January, possibly the last ever printed...the next time I went to the "print form" site, it was gone.

Here's a copy of the ONLY response I got from all the emails I sent: (She refers to the Senate Banking Committee which I think should be called the Senate Bankers Committee)

January 19, 2012

Thank you . . .

. . . for contacting me about the Treasury Direct program. I appreciate that you have taken the time to communicate your views and concerns with me.

I understand your concern about the difficulties created by the new, Internet-based savings bond program for people with limited access to computers. Should related legislation come before the U.S. Senate for a vote, I will keep your views in mind, and share your thoughts on this issue with my colleagues who serve on the Senate Banking Committee.

Thank you again for contacting me. Please continue to keep me informed about issues of concern to you and your family.

Sincerely,
Debbie Stabenow
United States Senator

DS:jl
U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow
The United States Senate • Washington, DC 20510
stabenow.senate.gov

[kestrel91316]

4. I suspect they did this in large part because it's so easy to

lose track of an online account Grandpa creates for the grandkids, and then ultimately all the money goes into government coffers.

Follow the money. It dictates ALL decisions anytime conservatives get involved, and there are plenty of them involved in government just so this sort of thing can go into effect.

It's ALL about stealing from the Little People.

[fadedrose]

5. I've never been to this group before...

With the menu on the left side, I'm finding out all kinds of things.

Is this group really activist? Do you think you could stir some trouble for the culprits who caused the death of the bond, with no ceremony to hail its past sucesses and no funeral?

I'm 72-l/2 and not in such great shape to be active where some elequence is required...

Anyway, this was my post with replies in General Discussion:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002232058

I have copies of emails sent to the guys & gal at msnbc too.

Thank you for reading all this and caring. I appreciate it..

[Chathamization]

7. Try the AARP?

I think your best bet might be contacting the AARP. They've done good work in the past on behalf of seniors, they are a large and well organized group, and they have a lot of clout. I think there's a decent amount of activists here, but I don't think many of us have much power nationally as of yet.

[fadedrose]

6. Thanks to those of you who responded to the OP

I still need to buy about 10 paper bonds for the kids I wasn't able to buy for due to the 12/31/11 cut-off date.

Haven't given up yet...

Was looking up Dylan Ratigan to see where he was going and this link was brought up:

http://www.democratichub.com/

And if you look around you'll see a "fadedrose" post about bonds...my post is in the "Age, Family and Social Class" forum; why I put it there I don't know. It was the first time that I was ever on the site and didn't know where to put it.

I'm always faithful to DU tho, mostly because I'm a bookreader and check "Fiction" every day. I just plain love DU, period...

It's an interesting site, this Democratic Hub..