U.S. Savings Bonds present an easy and effective way for Americans to save money, while at the same time financing their nation's treasury at a decent rate of return.
During the last ten years, the savings bond program has been gutted. The maximum amount that an individual can purchase was reduced from $30,000 to $10,000 annually, the Series EE bond structure was changed to a lifetime fixed rate vs. its former market-based variable rate, and just recently, paper savings bonds were eliminated in favor of electronic bonds.
While going electronic is definitely the way of the future, one of the main draws of savings bonds - gift-giving - is very cumbersome and impractical in TreasuryDirect.
We propose reforming the program, and properly promoting it, to encourage maximum participation.