jeff_wisnia wrote:
mm wrote:
On Mon, 12 Apr 2010 11:40:03 -0700 (PDT), DerbyDad03
wrote:


I was at a party last night and a neighbor who works for a commercial
HVAC company explained his method of ripping off the gas company.

He says that gas is a commodity and therefore is typically cheaper in
the summer than in the winter. In the summer he "over-reads" his meter
by 35 - 40 therms on average, paying for the extra therms at the
cheaper price.


"It's so rare I meet someone who admits right out to being a thief. I
assume you don't object when public officials steal or others steal
from you or your family."

I'm pretty slow on the uptake, and I might not have thought to say
this, but I think I'll remember next time. Especially worth saying if
others are there when he said what he did.


Yes, I'm prone to speak up when someone starts crowing about how they
cheat on their income taxes. I usually say something like, "You realize
you've just admitted that you're making me and the rest of the honest
citizens pay more than we'd have to if you didn't do that."

My saying that to someone out loud at a party used to get my (first)
wife angry with me....

Jeff


Not disagreeing with you philosophically about honesty and duty one's
duty to society as a whole. But, gas is different than taxes. Gas is a
measurable, quantifiable item. Taxes, on the other hand- I can't
remember what the proper term is, but no matter how much everyone pays,
they will still spend more than they get. Do you really think that if
they suddenly magically got 100% compliance with the tax code, that the
rate would actually go down? They would just find something else to
spend it on, said something probably being whatever they thought would
get them reelected.

Taxes are not set by dividing up the justifiable expenses by the number
of people. They are set by what the traffic will bear. They strive for
just a fraction lower than what would make compliance plummet even more
(like to European numbers), or worse yet, what would get the population
marching on the various capitols with torches and pitchforks. IOW, the
sweet spot where 'sort of' complying is easier than revolution.

(Note that I can't cheat- since I work for them, they already know
exactly what I make.)
--
aem sends...