An extremely simple step—albeit a small one—for economic justice

Please excuse this off-topic post, but in these days of economic stress, I think there are enough folks within your sphere of influence who may appreciate this. In fact, you yourself may find a bit of hidden treasure with your name on it.

If you have never yet visited missingmoney.org, you owe it to yourself to do so. There are several related portals, including this one. All the states, and several Canadian provinces, have treasurer sites that allow you to search their records for unclaimed property, which can take many forms: rebate checks, insurance payouts, refunded deposits, etc. Make sure to:

+ Check every state you have ever lived in.
+ Check the names (and maiden names) of living and deceased relatives in your nuclear and extended family (and maybe a generation or two back).

If you don't find anything for yourself, bear in mind you may know some folks in need: graduates with debt, members of your congregation, etc., who have left money on the table, and who would be delighted to discover they have something coming back to them.

Obviously, you don't want to misrepresent yourself, so don't claim anything that is not yours. But you can do research in order to help people get back what belongs to them. Don't seek payback or finder's fees. Just pay it forward. "Do unto others ..." and all that. It is in that spirit that I encourage you to share this post.