aircooled wrote: Prison is expensive.
People have a tendency to forget this.
aircooled wrote: Prison is expensive.
People have a tendency to forget this.
I agree with all of you that scamming the government, for some, is a past time. It's disheartening and makes me very mad. Especially when there are people who truly need the help and find it harder to get and less of it due to these kinds of stories.
I'm sure a lot of us see this every day.
I do feel like this is becoming a collective 'blame the poor' style thread and there needs to be some balance injected. Large corporations cheat the U.S. out of money daily. They do this by taking subsidies they don't need much like the families who cheat or don't need social welfare programs but use them anyway. Let's also consider large corps who don't pay the taxes they should or find loopholes, often held open by bought/paid for politicians, to avoid paying taxes they should.
A graphic on oil subsidies.
US Corporations Only Paid 13% Of Their Profits In Federal Tax: Apple Is The Explanation For This
Home> Money Report: 26 U.S. Companies Not Paying Federal Income Tax
I'm not saying this justifies anyone acting in the same manner personally. All of the stories in this thread are maddening. I'd just wanted to point out it's not just some poor folks who try to cheat the nation. It's also large corporations and some rich who do the same. If we're angry at a group who don't have money or political influence that act this way then we should be angry at the people who also have money and influence who act this way and are just as morally wrong.
I also agree with a previous poster that retribution for this kind of chicanery should be swift, accurate, and punishing.
Appleseed wrote: In reply to Xceler8x: Relevant Cracked.com Put a warning in there next time. That E36 M3 hit close to home.
Appleseed, I wouldn't post it if I didn't suffer from that same affliction. My wife grew up poor and I asked her to read it. She saw a lot of her own habits in there as well.
This has nothing to do with "blame the poor". This IS a thread of "Catch the Spineless WorthlessThieves". Just because one is "Poor" doesn't make them bad or evil. I grew up very poor for most of my life. I was taught to do it on your own. I don't remember M&D ever asking for gov't assistance even though I'm sure they would have qualified. Instead, they worked their ass off to get what we had and to keep it.
That's not the same thing as KNOWING that you are going to scam Wal-Mart for $1000 in E36 M3 that you know isn't yours nor are you getting the money for. That's just theft. Has nothing to do with the poor and everything to do with the type of people that were there that day.
Bobzilla wrote: This has nothing to do with "blame the poor". This IS a thread of "Catch the Spineless WorthlessThieves". Just because one is "Poor" doesn't make them bad or evil. I grew up very poor for most of my life. I was taught to do it on your own. I don't remember M&D ever asking for gov't assistance even though I'm sure they would have qualified. Instead, they worked their ass off to get what we had and to keep it. That's not the same thing as KNOWING that you are going to scam Wal-Mart for $1000 in E36 M3 that you know isn't yours nor are you getting the money for. That's just theft. Has nothing to do with the poor and everything to do with the type of people that were there that day.
Bobzilla, I completely agree. I just wanted to point out that while we're angry with the Wal-Mart shoppers we can also spread some blame and anger to the other hucksters who scam a sh!t ton more than a grocery cart full of groceries.
Have no fear! I'm not singling anyone out. I'm including them. I also think they're all, poor and rich/corporate alike, worth calling out for their thievery.
I can tolerate a liar. I can deal with an adulterer. A murderer disgusts me, but some people are just unhinged. A thief? They choose to be that. They choose to steal from others that have worked for their belongings.
They, to me, are the lowest for of scum on the face of the planet. Nothing angers me faster than a thief. OK, an entitled thief does make my blood boil a little faster.
Xceler8x wrote: Have no fear! I'm not singling anyone out. I'm including them. I also think they're all, poor and rich/corporate alike, worth calling out for their thievery.
Your righteous, anti-fraud indignation would carry more clout if you included multiple Congresses that have enabled it and allowed it to flourish.
I think there's something in the water in DC... once you cross the border you just want to ransack, pillage and steal everything in sight. lol
Bobzilla wrote: I think there's something in the water in DC... once you cross the border you just want to ransack, pillage and steal everything in sight. lol
EZ Pass cards are issued after Congressional elections. The cards are presented upon entrance and exit; the holders are then rewarded with taxpayer dollars.
Xceler8x wrote: Have no fear! I'm not singling anyone out. I'm including them. I also think they're all, poor and rich/corporate alike, worth calling out for their thievery.
Agreed. But it won't happen. The liberals want the handouts for the votes. The Republicans want the handouts for reelection funding. It's a never ending screw-fest that puts the middle class as the pivot man.
If the Feds didn't have the power we as a nation have given them, we wouldn't be having this discussion. Hence my default position of smaller federal government. I don't trust the politicians and consequently don't trust the feds.
God dammit, WTF happened on this page.....
In reply to Swank Force One:
Wacky Packages? I remember those from when I was a kid, back in the middle of the previous century! 
Xceler8x wrote: I agree with all of you that scamming the government, for some, is a past time. It's disheartening and makes me very mad. Especially when there are people who truly need the help and find it harder to get and less of it due to these kinds of stories. I'm sure a lot of us see this every day. I do feel like this is becoming a collective 'blame the poor' style thread and there needs to be some balance injected. Large corporations cheat the U.S. out of money daily. They do this by taking subsidies they don't need much like the families who cheat or don't need social welfare programs but use them anyway. Let's also consider large corps who don't pay the taxes they should or find loopholes, often held open by bought/paid for politicians, to avoid paying taxes they should. A graphic on oil subsidies.
large corporations create jobs and pump money back into the economy, so i don't see any problem with them getting a break on their tax burden.
answer this honestly: when the time comes to fill out your tax forms, do you try to get as much of your money back or keep as much of your money as you can, or do you just look at your gross income, find it on the chart, and give them that amount?
All those frree groceries had to go somewhere, water treatment , thereby creating jobs at the treatment plant, which in turn creates jobs fo the mayor ,who in turn has to have people to charge for said service . . .
TRoglodyte wrote: All those frree groceries had to go somewhere, water treatment , thereby creating jobs at the treatment plant, which in turn creates jobs fo the mayor ,who in turn has to have people to charge for said service . . .
all government jobs.. a net loss to the economy...
novaderrik wrote: large corporations create jobs and pump money back into the economy, so i don't see any problem with them getting a break on their tax burden. answer this honestly: when the time comes to fill out your tax forms, do you try to get as much of your money back or keep as much of your money as you can, or do you just look at your gross income, find it on the chart, and give them that amount?
My main point was about how our government subsidizes the oil industry, among others, even when they have record profits posted for their shareholders. They don't need the money but our government still gives it to them. In my opinion it fit with the fraud, waste, and abuse aspect of this thread.
Xceler8x wrote:novaderrik wrote: large corporations create jobs and pump money back into the economy, so i don't see any problem with them getting a break on their tax burden. answer this honestly: when the time comes to fill out your tax forms, do you try to get as much of your money back or keep as much of your money as you can, or do you just look at your gross income, find it on the chart, and give them that amount?My main point was about how our government subsidizes the oil industry, among others, even when they have record profits posted for their shareholders. They don't need the money but our government still gives it to them. In my opinion it fit with the fraud, waste, and abuse aspect of this thread.
I kind of agree, though part of me stops and thinks: "Hey, if theyre making so much damned money, shouldnt I invest in them?"
novaderrik wrote: answer this honestly: when the time comes to fill out your tax forms, do you try to get as much of your money back or keep as much of your money as you can, or do you just look at your gross income, find it on the chart, and give them that amount?
You're right; businesses with a lot of clout are exactly like you and I. Personally, I have ten lobbyists with a pen in one hand and a cubic meter of cash in the other, ensuring that my interests are part of the tax code. Doesn't everyone?
Mitchell wrote:novaderrik wrote: answer this honestly: when the time comes to fill out your tax forms, do you try to get as much of your money back or keep as much of your money as you can, or do you just look at your gross income, find it on the chart, and give them that amount?You're right; businesses with a lot of clout are exactly like you and I. Personally, I have ten lobbyists with a pen in one hand and a cubic meter of cash in the other, ensuring that my interests are part of the tax code. Doesn't everyone?
Well obviously you should just work harder, start your own company and then you can have lobbyists as well!
z31maniac wrote:Mitchell wrote:Well obviously you should just work harder, start your own company and then you can have lobbyists as well!novaderrik wrote: answer this honestly: when the time comes to fill out your tax forms, do you try to get as much of your money back or keep as much of your money as you can, or do you just look at your gross income, find it on the chart, and give them that amount?You're right; businesses with a lot of clout are exactly like you and I. Personally, I have ten lobbyists with a pen in one hand and a cubic meter of cash in the other, ensuring that my interests are part of the tax code. Doesn't everyone?
As if businesses who employee "special interest lobbyists" in order to tweek the tax code in their favor are alone. News flash - the entire code has evolved into a parade of regulations designed to favor or punish taxpayers.
You guys are amusing......
oldsaw wrote:z31maniac wrote:As if businesses who employee "special interest lobbyists" in order to tweek the tax code in their favor are alone. News flash - the entire code has evolved into a parade of regulations designed to favor or punish taxpayers. You guys are amusing......Mitchell wrote:Well obviously you should just work harder, start your own company and then you can have lobbyists as well!novaderrik wrote: answer this honestly: when the time comes to fill out your tax forms, do you try to get as much of your money back or keep as much of your money as you can, or do you just look at your gross income, find it on the chart, and give them that amount?You're right; businesses with a lot of clout are exactly like you and I. Personally, I have ten lobbyists with a pen in one hand and a cubic meter of cash in the other, ensuring that my interests are part of the tax code. Doesn't everyone?
I know, I was being facetious.
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