Oregon Buying Itself a Gift Card?

Posted By Zach Patton | February 14, 2007

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Commented February 14, 2007

I venture to say that the cost of the process required to collect, track, monitor, etc., all of thes...

You know that giftcard you got for Christmas that's still sitting in your wallet? And there's, like, $4.38 on it, and you don't want to be wasteful, so you hang on to it, but really, who can remember they have a $4.38 credit every time they run in to Target?

Well, Oregon wants that $4.38.

Okay, only if you live in Oregon. And only if it's been three years. But state lawmakers are weighing a proposal that would turn unused gift card balances over to the state. The money would be set up in a trust in the cardholder's name, but the state would use the interest from the trust to help fund public schools.

So just think, Oregon shoppers -- every time you spend money off a gift card, you're essentially robbing the state of some public schools funding.

Or something.

Zach Patton

Zach Patton is a GOVERNING staff writer. He writes about a range of topics, including education, social policy issues, and urban planning and design. Patton is also the editor of GOVERNING's Management e-newsletter.

E-mail: zpatton@governing.com

Comments

Michael Brennan-White    |    Commented February 14, 2007 Personally I would rather see that money be used for school funding than adding even more profit to the retail stores.

Michael Brennan-White    |    Commented February 14, 2007 Personally I would rather see that money be used for school funding than adding even more profit to the retail stores.

Deborah Johnson    |    Commented February 14, 2007 Um, I'm not sure how they would accomplish that! Say I wanted to buy Zach a gift card. So I skip over to Target (which, conveniently, is located just across the parking lot from my office) at lunchtime, plunk down a crisp new $20 bill from the cash machine, and walk out with a preloaded $20 gift card. Then I send it to Zach (you're welcome), and he has that $4.38 left over after he buys the hot new Paolo Nutini CD. And then what?? Nobody knows who "owns" the unclaimed $4.38 on the gift card. There is no way to trace it!! So the idea of putting it into a trust in the cardholder's name is laughable. The only way that works is with identifiable accounts, as in Washington State's unclaimed property account. (See .) So with all due respect, neighbors to the south, call it what it is: a grab and nothing else.
Deborah Johnson    |    Commented February 14, 2007 Um, I'm not sure how they would accomplish that! Say I wanted to buy Zach a gift card. So I skip over to Target (which, conveniently, is located just across the parking lot from my office) at lunchtime, plunk down a crisp new $20 bill from the cash machine, and walk out with a preloaded $20 gift card. Then I send it to Zach (you're welcome), and he has that $4.38 left over after he buys the hot new Paolo Nutini CD. And then what?? Nobody knows who "owns" the unclaimed $4.38 on the gift card. There is no way to trace it!! So the idea of putting it into a trust in the cardholder's name is laughable. The only way that works is with identifiable accounts, as in Washington State's unclaimed property account. (See .) So with all due respect, neighbors to the south, call it what it is: a grab and nothing else.
Tom Gee    |    Commented February 14, 2007 I venture to say that the cost of the process required to collect, track, monitor, etc., all of these unclaimed dollars might be more than the amount of revenue eventually realized by the government.
Tom Gee    |    Commented February 14, 2007 I venture to say that the cost of the process required to collect, track, monitor, etc., all of these unclaimed dollars might be more than the amount of revenue eventually realized by the government.

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Oregon Buying Itself a Gift Card?

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