- A Pew Research Center Poll reports that Americans believe cheating on your taxes is only nine percent more despicable than cheating on your spouse. Nine percent! How are we ever going to get the balance right in this country when matters of money keep nipping at the heels of matters of the heart like this? Basically, we’re saying the notion of destroying someone’s self-esteem, battering their very psyche with emotional turmoil, betraying a sacred trust; all these are only marginally more troublesome than someone who tries to write off a trip to Bermuda. (Actually, while Net surfing I found a story on an obscure tax loophole that allows you deduct expenses on business trips to such locales as Bermuda, Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago without having to show a specific reason why your meeting was even being held there. This is amazing news. The only snag will be trying to communicate to the guy who brings the doughnuts which one is Trinidad and which one is Tobago.)
- It just seems that money and sex are always running neck and neck in the American mindset, each one constantly vying for the top spot in the “I’ve got mine” sweepstakes. Why should someone getting away with ripping off the IRS (an organization that is the butt of more contemptuous late-night comedian jokes than Britney Spears, Dick Cheney and Carrot Top combined) offend our sensibilities more than an adulterer whose callous behavior figuratively rips out their spouse’s heart, steps on it, microwaves it, then steps on it again? Maybe we just tend to see someone who gets away with something we wish we could get away with as deserving of our scorn. Maybe we try our best to do the right thing and resent someone who steals from their fellow taxpayer. Or maybe money is always tapping on the door of our emotions, making itself more important than love and intimacy, thereby leading to a breakdown in communication, lack of respect and, in the worst case scenario, an affair. It’s an endless cycle of dysfunction from which we may never escape, but one that continues to ensure decent ratings for Jerry Springer.
- Hey, I’m just like anybody else. I’m going to try and write off my ferret as a dependent every chance I get. And if I can find a way to declare ESPN as a legitimate business expense (let’s see…if I don’t keep track of sports…my career will suffer…because…I won’t be able to make small talk with clients…my numbers will drop….and I’ll get canned…yeah, that sounds about right), you can bet I’ll do it. But does this put me on the same level as some superficial Hollywood star who ditches his wife for his nanny? I like to think not. But, everybody has different criteria for what is offensively dishonest. Like, for example, a politician claiming it’s all going to be different once they’re in office, or the Emmys adding a reality TV category…those are right up there with the biggies as far as I’m concerned.