I was confronted with this issue today. When you find something that does not belong to you- can you keep it? How much does something have to worth for you to turn it in to the police, lost and found or would you ever turn anything in?
Scenario one: In a restaurant, in the waiting to be seated area, you find a dollar. It is not on the floor, but it is no where near a table. Could you keep it? Could it be a tip?
Scenario two: You are walking in your neighborhood and see 5$ laying near or on (but close to the sidewalk) someones driveway, no one is around. Do you keep it? Knock on the door and then if they don't answer keep it. What if it was more money? Like 100$?
I have trouble keeping any money I find with the exception of stray coins. I worry too much about Karma. When ever I have gotten anything, even with the slightest dis honesty, I pay somehow-someway.
Is the world really live by the value "finders keepers losers weepers"? I hope not.
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2 comments:
It really depends on the who losers are and the item that is found. I mean, if you stumble across a few bucks in the drier at your house, then you could keep it. Or if your arch-nemesis drops a few bucks then you could take it in spite of him/her. It works the other way too, if you see someone drop ten dollars then you try to return it to the person that dropped it. And if you were to find like 150 dollars on the ground, you should try to get it back to it's dropper, but giving it the authorities really wont work because they just accept it as though it were a donation, and unless you wanted to donate it that's pretty much a waste of money.
I'm not sure the authorities would "accept money as a donation". I'm not sure how it works, but probably at some point if the quantity becomes large enough they'll open up an investigation (cash can be traced to some degree).
As for smaller amounts, beyond quarters, I'll drop found money in the nearest donations or tip jar. That's how I solve the karma problem.
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