I'm not sure if this relates to the FiCri as some kind of hidden indicator, but I've noticed a dramatic increase lately in the number of ads from slimy law firms offering to help people resolve their massive, unpaid IRS debt.

These advertisements make it sound as though anybody who gets in debt to the IRS is some kind of innocent victim. One especially frequent commercial depicts a sweet, grandmotherly type. In a voice choked with emotion, she recounts how the evil IRS drained the last ten dollars from her checking account.

I don't understand why more people aren't offended by these ads. Many folks seem to have the attitude that taxes are too high, and therefore it's OK not to pay them. But I'm not trying to start a discussion about whether taxes are too high or too low; or whether they favor one group over another. There are thousands of websites where those issues are endlessly picked apart. The only topic at issue in this blog post is whether or not you owe the taxes as the laws exist today.

People don't get into debt to the IRS by "accident". Taxes aren't like a catastrophic injury or illness where you incur an unexpected, large debt through no fault of your own. It's relatively easy to project what you're going to owe based on your income. Obviously, you need to reserve at least enough of your earnings each year to offset your tax debt. It's pretty hard for me to feel sorry for somebody who claims that they got mixed up on their tax liability because they made way more money than they expected to. That's the kind of problem that most people would like to have!

Here's the thing that these ads never point out: If you're in debt to the IRS, and you use one of these law firms to settle for ten cents on the dollar, that portion of government spending doesn't simply disappear from the appropriations side of the budget. In reality, every other taxpayer has to chip in to make up your portion of the unpaid bill.

Just in case I haven't made my feelings clear on this topic: If you don't pay your debt to the IRS, you are stealing money from the government at the expense of law-abiding taxpayers. You're not a victim … you're a DEADBEAT!

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