# You want ME to help you commit fraud? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 28, 2004, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-me-to-help-you-commit-fraud/271625 "2004-10-28T06:00:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-me-to-help-you-commit-fraud/271625/21 "2004-10-28T20:25:09Z")
> [@even sven](#): > > Six bucks is a helluva lot of money- more than my daily budget right now. I can see the temptation to try to avoid it if for some reason I had to park on campus. > > You just don’t know other people’s circumstances. There could be some compelling reasons why parked without a pass and some compelling reasons why paying the fine would be a disaster for her. A parking fine would mean I couldn’t eat for a few days, and I am lucky enough not to have any dependents. I think it’d be good to tone down the self-rightousness a bit. **even sven** , I’m really curious, would you succumb to this woman’s level of weaseldom by parking in a garage you _know_ you can’t afford to pay for, with the hopes that some misguided sap is going to help you get out of it? I had to shell out $200 for the semester parking permit, but I sure as hell am getting my money’s worth, since I drive to school 6 days a week, and have work immediately before and after classes which requires me to park as close as possible to get to work/school on time. I could care less about some stranger’s financial situation. There is no reason I should risk getting in trouble just to help them get out of a situation that is the product of their own irresponsibility. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-me-to-help-you-commit-fraud/271625/22 "2004-10-28T20:30:34Z")
And even if you **do** care about a stranger’s financial situation and want to help them out, there are more ethical ways and less ethical ways for them to seek help. I have no problem with somebody asking “Please would you give me a little money for a parking pass, or give me your parking pass if you’re through with it, because I can’t afford one?” (As long as they’re willing to take no for an answer, of course.) But somebody asking “Please would you give me your used parking pass so I can lie my way out of the fine I got for parking without a pass?” just somehow smells much worse. ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-me-to-help-you-commit-fraud/271625/23 "2004-10-28T20:34:56Z")
Sanctimonious _and_ self-righteous! Dude, you should try for the trifecta. Hopefully someone will come along and tell you to get off your high horse. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-me-to-help-you-commit-fraud/271625/24 "2004-10-28T20:40:04Z")
> [@even sven](#): > > Six bucks is a helluva lot of money- more than my daily budget right now. I can see the temptation to try to avoid it if for some reason I had to park on campus. > > You just don’t know other people’s circumstances. There could be some compelling reasons why parked without a pass and some compelling reasons why paying the fine would be a disaster for her. A parking fine would mean I couldn’t eat for a few days, and I am lucky enough not to have any dependents. I think it’d be good to tone down the self-rightousness a bit. meh. If you don’t have $6 to pay for parking, then don’t drive. This really doesn’t seem like a difficult concept to me. ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-me-to-help-you-commit-fraud/271625/25 "2004-10-28T23:22:10Z")
WAIT WAIT WAIT! $6? Parking tickets around here are $20, $50 if you park in a teacher’s only zone. Permits are $120 a semester. Wow. Just, wow. $6. ---
**Author:** ![Berkut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e57/32.png) [@Berkut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Berkut)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-me-to-help-you-commit-fraud/271625/26 "2004-10-28T23:41:36Z")
The permit was $6, we don’t know how much the ticket was. ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-me-to-help-you-commit-fraud/271625/27 "2004-10-28T23:43:01Z")
> [@FilmGeek](#): > > Wow. Just, wow. $6. Per da. Someone at my school figured it out, even if they park in the cheapest lot it adds up to half their rent a month, or they can pay $72 and take the train for the semester… ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-me-to-help-you-commit-fraud/271625/28 "2004-10-29T00:22:12Z")
> [@even sven](#): > > Six bucks is a helluva lot of money- more than my daily budget right now. I can see the temptation to try to avoid it if for some reason I had to park on campus. > > You just don’t know other people’s circumstances. There could be some compelling reasons why parked without a pass and some compelling reasons why paying the fine would be a disaster for her. A parking fine would mean I couldn’t eat for a few days, and I am lucky enough not to have any dependents. I think it’d be good to tone down the self-rightousness a bit. I’ve been in that situation, where six dollars was more than my daily budget and a ticket would have ruined me. Know how I solved the problem? I didn’t drive and park in places that required the expenditure of six dollars. Sometimes I didn’t drive at all. But I never sought to scam the system by lying, because my integrity was worth more than six dollars to me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-me-to-help-you-commit-fraud/271625.md?page=1)