This year, April 18th was a day of dread for many. I can remember the first time I filed taxes. As I carefully filled in the blanks on the 1040EZ form, I made a mental list of all the things I was going to do with my financial windfall. Unfortunately, Uncle Sam had a different plan for my money and wanted a little more than I had already given him. I was completely outraged and could not understand the injustice of it all. How dare he take MY hard-earned money? You would have thought the couple hundred dollars I owed was the end of the world, but in my defense, I was just a young kid. Now, I am older and the tax bill is higher. I have come to realize that it is just a fact of life for all of us…well, for most of us.
Did you know it is estimated that 30-40% of people cheat on their taxes? Honestly, I was a bit shocked by the amount. It got me thinking about where something like lying to the government fits on the integrity scale. Is cheating on your taxes the same as shoplifting, or is it a minor infraction such as not returning your shopping cart to the parking lot corral? Should the consequences include jail time or just a small penalty? Does it depend on how much money is concerned? If it is only a small amount of money, might it be considered just “kind of” cheating? Is it acceptable if the cheater is a really good person in all other aspects of their life? Did I give enough examples to get you to the answer (or at least a good laugh)?
Hence today’s title: There is No Grey in Integrity. Integrity is black and white…all the time. We may not always like or agree with the rules, and we may wish that we could bend them just a bit. The truth is that integrity is really non-negotiable.
So, yet again I paid in some additional taxes, but as my father always said to me, “If you are paying taxes, it’s just because you are making money.” And once again, he is right.
Susan, If we are inconsistent in our integrity, our sphere will reduce us to the lowest level. We cannot be honest in one thing and compromised in another. And... we are being watched, not only from above, but from our children who will grow up to be JUST LIKE US!!! - Cliff
Posted by: Cliff Cannon | April 22, 2011 at 08:18 AM
Amen, Kurt!
Posted by: Susan Schneider | April 21, 2011 at 08:44 AM
And paying taxes means our children can attend good schools, firemen come to our homes when there are, well, fires and our police departments and military can continue to keep us safe. Integrity is what keeps our country moving forward.
Posted by: Kurt Schwabe | April 20, 2011 at 06:20 PM
I completely agree! Being ethical isn't something you can turn on and off.
Posted by: Susan Schneider | April 20, 2011 at 02:34 PM
Susan, You are exactly correct: integrity is integrity, PERIOD. I keep hearing about ethics vs. business ethics. How does that work? You either have ethics or your don't!
Posted by: Joe Turpin | April 20, 2011 at 09:52 AM