The Case of the Disappearing Children

Common and harmless is the ‘white lie. And perhaps this is true when used to avoid harming another person in some trivial doesn’t-matter-at-all kind of way. 

Common and harmless is not the description for many lies that we hide behind the ‘curtain of white’, however.

Although the IRS has extended the deadline for 2020 taxes by a month or so, April 15 is still the deadline for filing and paying estimated taxes.  Some of us need to remember that and get busy, I suppose.  It is this deadline that suggested today’s conversation.

When it comes to taxes, we can tend to be creative.  Sometimes, our ingenuity leaves behind honest accounting.  Legal tax deductions and exemptions are to be used – that is what they are for.  But in the past, those computations have been, well maybe inflated would be an appropriate description.

Although a bit humorous, one widely abused example involves children.  This 1989 LA Times article explains that in 1987, the IRS began mandating the inclusion of social security numbers for all children deducted on tax returns.  Coincidently, it was the exact moment that nearly 7 million kids disappeared from the face of the earth.  

What Else Will You Lie About?

Well, that's not a very nice question to start the week!  It comes to mind because of that "funk" I was talking about in a recent post.

Every decision made results in some consequence, good or bad.  We choose our paths based on the best information we have for the best possible outcome. Choosing one option automatically dismisses all others and a new path has begun.

A brief search reveals that an average adult makes between 5,000 and 35,000 decisions each day. Whoa, I'm exhausted!

For our purposes today, we'll speak only of decisions affecting personal and business relationships. (That might not narrow the field much. I'll have to think about that.)

Today's post title was taken directly from Seth Godin's blog of the same name.  It will take you about 33 seconds to read and basically asks businesses is it better to tell a small lie or just be honest?  Go ahead.  Click the link.  I'll wait.
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Visual Hunt

I was faced with a decision that was similar. Should a corporate website indicate that it supports a variety of charities when in fact, it does not?  The explanation given for this 'discrepency' was, "Well, they're near and dear to our heart.  And, nonprofits appreciate any exposure they can get."

It was time to make another decision.  I could accept and rationalize the given explanation and continue onward or I could say, "That's wrong.  I won't do it."  Now then, since every decision has consequences, what will be effect on the relationships involved here?