Honest guy or idiot?

[ChrisBennet]

I would hope I'm not the only one that knows the taking something that isn't yours is stealing.

Someone with integrity doesn't really consider anything else but returning the money.

Imagine if you will, that the question had been "Would you as a heterosexual person consider having a homosexual relationship if the other party was "really cute" or "no one would know"? Probably not. Why?Because it's just the way you are wired. It's the same for an honest person with integrity.

A few times in my life someone has told me I should take something or keep something that wasn't mine because "no one would know" and I told them "I would know."

It's refreshing to hear about someone who's integrity is priced higher than $140,000. It's also a little saddening to see that some don't see it as the obvious and normal thing to do.

-Chris

[DARISC]

Originally Posted by speeder

OK, so if it was $20 million w/ zero chance of getting caught and the party who lost it was not really hurt by the loss, would you keep it, Sammy?

Or would 20 large not change your life?

Even under those circumstances, Denis, a sense of honesty is so deeply ingrained in my psyche that I could not be shaken from the ultimate truth that, being an honest man, I must return the money.

I would then do two things:

1) Count the money again.

2) Become a dishonest man.

[stomachmonkey]

$20 Million dollars.

Kinda hard to "lose" or misplace that kinda cash.

The largest bill in circulation is the $100 so at minimum you'd be looking at 200,000 bills, around 400 lbs of them occupying roughly the same volume as a small car.

Have fun counting it, if you could count a bill a second it would take you 55 hours.

[MMARSH]

Originally Posted by ChrisBennet

I would hope I'm not the only one that knows the taking something that isn't yours is stealing.

Someone with integrity doesn't really consider anything else but returning the money.

Imagine if you will, that the question had been "Would you as a heterosexual person consider having a homosexual relationship if the other party was "really cute" or "no one would know"? Probably not. Why?Because it's just the way you are wired. It's the same for an honest person with integrity.

A few times in my life someone has told me I should take something or keep something that wasn't mine because "no one would know" and I told them "I would know."

It's refreshing to hear about someone who's integrity is priced higher than $140,000. It's also a little saddening to see that some don't see it as the obvious and normal thing to do.

-Chris

+1 and we wonder what is wrong with our society, our young people. It really has nothing to do with how much or who the money belongs to. It's about the fact that it doesn't belong to you. For me personally, not a tough choice at all.

[speeder]

I admire anyone who could just turn it in w/o a second thought. A lot of otherwise honest people would struggle w/ the old "bag of money that dropped from outer space" scenario.

[DARISC]

Originally Posted by speeder

I admire anyone who could just turn it in w/o a second thought. A lot of otherwise honest people would struggle w/ the old "bag of money that dropped from outer space" scenario.

I'd really, really like to find $20 million so I could actually put my opinion of myself as an honest man to the true test.

[m21sniper]

Originally Posted by speeder

If you allowed me to work in your house and I stole so much as Red Bull out of your refrigerator I could not face myself. This bag of money, I would spend w/o a care in the world.

Agreed

[m21sniper]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

If I found a wad like that from a source like Brinks, it would definitely be going back. Now if it fell out of the back of an Escalade rollin' on 22's, not so much.

To me there is little difference between the two.

Originally Posted by MRM

It didn't belong to him. He had to give it back.

As for the hypotheticals, illegal money does not belong to the criminal. It is contraband. If found it is to be turned in to the police. It will either be forfited to the state, returned to true owners, or possibly be given to the findee, depending on the situation, state law, and where the money came from. So the principle remains the same: found money gets turned in to the proper authorities.

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah

[YTNUKLR]

"Property is theft."

[DARISC]

Snarkily anarchical but comical .

[kstar]

Originally Posted by ChrisBennet

. . . snip . . .

Someone with integrity doesn't really consider anything else but returning the money

. . . snip . . .

I agree with this and the other folks who, without reservation, said they would return the money.

There are no questions, conditions or "what ifs" for me either.

Best,

Kurt

[Noah930]

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

$20 Million dollars.

Kinda hard to "lose" or misplace that kinda cash.

The largest bill in circulation is the $100 so at minimum you'd be looking at 200,000 bills, around 400 lbs of them occupying roughly the same volume as a small car.

Have fun counting it, if you could count a bill a second it would take you 55 hours.

Well, what else are you going to do with your time, seeing as how you suddenly don't have to go back to work, ever again?

That's assuming that you're counting it to know how much is there, to calculate if you can actually quit your job. We've already established on this thread that the "honest" person would return it, regardless of monetary value.

I'd a turned it in. (Either that, or stuffed it into the Salvation Army guy's kettle at the local Rite Aid.) And then I woulda kicked myself for a few weeks for having done something so stupid. Particularly every time I pass by the 997 GT3 that's parked a block from my office.

[DARISC]

Now I'm thinkin', maybe I'd keep 2 mill, turn in the "18" mill I found, refuse to accept any reward offered (because I'm an honest man and just doing what any honest person would do!), then bask in all the "honest man" publicity I'd get (before dissapearing ).

[m21sniper]

Originally Posted by Noah930

We've already established on this thread that the "honest" person would return it, regardless of monetary value. .

I'm honest.

I honestly would keep it, and i'm honestly telling you so.

[rbuswell]

Originally Posted by the

Would you declare it as income on your tax return, or would you cheat on your taxes, too?

I checked a tax preparing website and it listed found money as taxable. I'm not sure what I was thinking but I never guessed that it's taxable. It may be hard to trace but it's taxable.

[rbuswell]

Originally Posted by Joeaksa

Karma made him walk away $2000 richer when he had nothing and a lot of publicity about being an honest man. Nothing wrong with that even if Brinks should have given him more of a reward.

Do you suppose that this young newlywed is going to get a call or two wanting him to quote a landscape job? Wouldn't you want this guy working for you?

[cab83_750]

Guys,

If you do find money belonging to big companies, please DONATE the $$ to any Child Abuse Prevention foundations.