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Saturday, April 24, 2010

Let's Talk Seriously about Your Unused Gift Cards

I discovered a bit of truly shocking news when I read this article this morning. The gist of the article is that New Jersey is considering joining the 28 US states who are already participating in what this writer, (and this may not be the opinion of Mercardi as a whole) considers government theft, by taking over funds from retailers for unused gift cards sold to consumers. The state then invest the money and uses the interest to fund state programs and pay debts.

There may be some of you who believe in this socialistic crime, and if so I apologize if I have offended your sensibilities, but I have a strong suspicion that most readers of this blog are from the camp that believes in the division of government and business.

Either way, let's do some math. In 2009, retailers sold $90 billion in gift cards to consumers. 10% of those gift cards remain unused. Mind boggling, huh?

Just imagine what organizations like the Salvation Army and the Red Cross could do with $9 billion? We have homeless people living in the streets of America. Rather than the money from unused gift cards going to the government, just think how many people that money could house!

YOU have the power to change this scary and Animal Farmish situation. Simply find those unused gift cards that you have in your dresser drawer or your wallet, and donate them to your favorite charity. Don't let the state control your money.

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