Questionsofethics onfoundmoney
DEAR EDITOR:
An ethical conundrum: What would you do? A little old lady was in line at a retail outlet. The young couple ahead of her dropped some money on the floor.
The old lady got to the cashier saw the money, picked it up and gave it to the cashier telling her the young couple before her had dropped it. The cashier took it and put it in a side pocket on the stand out of sight.
The old lady paid for her items and left the store.
Staff tells me the employer donates any found money to charity: Any business donating money to charity gets a tax receipt.
This is not their money. Is it ethical to claim a tax deduction for what does not belong to you?
Do you think the cashier should have gotten the old lady’s name and returned the funds to her if no one claimed it? After all; the little old lady found it; she could have kept it instead of turning it in.
Will the cashier turn the money in to her employer if there is no claimant or will she be tempted to pocket a windfall no one knows about?
Is it ethical to place temptation onto others?
An honest old lady’s good deed is dependent on the honesty of several in the loop.
Cash has no ownership. Theoretically it belongs to the possessor unless proven otherwise.
Should the old lady have scooped up the money and told no one?
Would a better option have been giving the cashier her phone number so she could personally return the money thus ensuring her good deed came to a successful conclusion?
Does honesty beget honesty? Was it wise to lose track of what happens to the found money?
Whether $5, $50 or $100, I have purposely not disclosed the value of the found money: Should honesty and our reaction to it carry a price tag?
Is the value of a dollar dependent on the financial circumstances of the finder?
Or is the value of a dollar dependent on the financial circumstances of the person that lost those dollars.
I remember reading about cases where found money had been turned into the police; unable to establish ownership; after a certain period of time it was returned to the finder.
Should what is good enough for the police be good enough for retail outlets?