Safe Deposit Box Thefts; By BIG Government

Wow! Just wow! I knew that big government always equalled BAD government. But California it appears ranks number one in thievery from it's own citizenry. It has sung a tune of about $5.1 BILLION dollars worth of "unclaimed" property that it has partaken of.

This is the kind of reporting about government people need to see from our "fair & balanced" media. Not the annoyingly repetitive, roboticly overused same 'ol song and dance line of "Bush Bad, America Bad." And not too amazingly, it comes from one of the only news outlets aside from FOX, that I still have the slightest bit of liking for. Albeit, they still all have a slant that I disfavor.

ABC News recently reported that State governments have been claiming supposedly "unclaimed" property, and depending on its type, using the revenue for its own means. At one time a couple decades ago, the time span for property to be deemed "unclaimed" was about 15 years. And at the 15 year mark, the states still had to diligently attempt to contact the owners of said property.

Over the years, that time frame has drastically shrunk from 15 years, to seven, to five, and currently holding in at three years. Supposedly, this was due to times of "budget crisis's" of one form or another. More accurately though, it was a steady stream of free money that the state wanted. It should also be mentioned that it's come to the point were California hasn't even been bothering to try and contact the rightful owners.

As found in the ABC article, California State Controller John Chiang, who inherited the situation when he came into office said, "What we've done here over the last two decades has been dead wrong. We've kept the property and not provided owners with the opportunities -- the best opportunities -- to get their property back." And now he apparently has the duty of trying to repay all those, well technically speaking, "THEFTS."

But you've got to read the article over at ABC's page. There's a whole lot more that's been looted and squandered beyond safety deposit boxes.

By the way, that $5.1 Billion payback.... does that include interest?