Dear Idiots

Dear Idiots,

Did you ever hear the expression, “If it seems to good to be true, it probably is?” Well, all you have to do is look at Wesley Snipes to know that’s true. He decided to throw his lot in with the folks that say that the IRS has no right to tax us, and that Income Taxes are illegal and unenforceable, and where did that get him? In big trouble. I’ll admit, I’ve been intrigued to know if anyone was ever dumb enough to go for these schemes…I mean, don’t you think that if there were an easy, LEGAL way to get out of paying taxes, we would have all jumped on that band wagon LONG ago? And gosh, I’m tired of hearing how if you’re famous, the law sticks it to you so much worse than for the rest of us. Ala’ Paris Hilton, Winona Ryder, and Nichole Ritchie. OK, if they’re looking to make an example of Hollywood types, then damn it, keep your nose clean!

The court heard yesterday that Snipes dodged $15 million in tax through a campaign in which he concealed millions offshore, falsely applied for tax refunds and bombarded the Internal Revenue Service with frivolous correspondence that threatened government employees, railed about extortion and used twisted legal interpretations to back his claim that taxation was unlawful.

It makes me think that if he hadn’t gotten all rich and famous, he’d be a sucker for those Nigerian scams.

Speaking of which, I received a Nigerian scam email the other day that tried a new angle. You, idiots, might want to pay attention, because you might otherwise fall for this one. This person wasn’t satisfied with plying me with greed, instead, they plied my better nature. First off, they tried to play the religious angle, saying they were a ‘Christian’ (a term I use loosely, because none of the Christians I know in person try to scam people out of their money), and they were looking for another like minded ‘Christian’ to send their inheritance to. See, this woman was living in Nigeria, and had inherited a LARGE sum of money from her husband, but had only recently discovered that she was dying from an incurable illness. She is looking for another devoted Christian (I only stress this because the spammer did) to help her to help the needy…orphans, widows, and the poor. So please contact me with your bank account info, and I’ll transfer a couple of million dollars to you, which you PROMISE you’ll use for these purposes, right?

Do you, idiots to whom this letter is written, see the similarity? That’s right, if it seems to good to be true, it probably is. If someone offers to dump a ton of money in your lap, even if it is to do good deeds, or if someone claims they can get you out of onerous tax debts, they’re lying. Follow the law, and you’ll stay out of jail, and keep your money in your checking account.

Sincerely,

~J

Py actually posted on a similar topic today, regarding easy money and its victims, and living in a house of cards, over at Popdose. Check it out.