About 5 years ago, I came up with an idea of a way the government could get voluntary contributions to help it dig itself out of debt. They could work out deals with major online retailers like Amazon and Wal-Mart to get gift cards at a discount, say 15 or 20% off, for buying them in bulk, then allow consumers to opt for their refunds in gift cards worth 5 or 10% more than they were due. It would encourage citizens to loan more of their money to the government each year, which the government could use for short term projects, the retailers are happy because they get huge bulk order of gift cards, consumers shop with them over other similar retailers, and people rarely spend *just* their gift card amount. Everyone wins. This situation isn't quite that, but I still like it! I probably wouldn't use it myself, because I want my money to be more flexible (Amazon doesn't quite have everything I need, yet), but then again, none of my current investments are getting a 10% return!
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ninetydegrees
no subject
on 2015-04-06 08:02 pm (UTC)