Doesn't it seem like everyone's cheating? Why fight it any longer? Let's either join the cheating ranks (hey, they can't catch us all, right?) or at least sit back and enjoy their antics.
Here are just a few items from this week alone, with a little commentary from The Cheater - your new personal finance coach.
AT&T may have influenced the American Idol votes.
The Cheater says: Nice!
A corporation did something to get publicity for their new product... which might've influenced a TV popularity contest to determine which of two kids gets to go from zero to millionaire in 5 weeks, based on the judgments of a music producer, the guy who owns the rights to the show, and Paula Abdul... all of which increased publicity and longevity - and thus earning power - for the product, the TV show, the judges, and both contestants? Doesn't seem like anyone loses. How very "American" of "Idol."
Drugmaker Wyeth alleged to have cheated Medicaid
The Cheater Says: Duh. Entitlements have your money.
Programs like Medicaid are a great source of cheatable money: Who's gonna deny Grandma treatment, even if Grandma doesn't exist? No one.
Bureaucracy is what makes these programs so cheatable. Ever talked to your right hand and realized it had no idea what your left hand was doing? Well, that's what the system is like, and - for the wise cheater - both hands can give you money.
The British MP Expense Scandal Still Rages
The Cheater Says: They gave us tea, we give 'em cheating. Seems fair to me.
A Tennessee Man Cheated Casinos Out of Thousands
The Cheater Says: Aww, those poor, upstanding casinos. Always improving people's lives. They deserve better.
The Memphis Basketball Program Violated NCAA Rules
The Cheater Says: Hmmm... The team made the NCAA finals, increasing exposure and cachet; The player won NBA Rookie of the Year; The coach got a multi-jillion dollar deal at Kentucky. Looks like everybody got rich cheating.
And, of course, right to the point:
"Wall Street Is Still Cheating You"
The Cheater Says: Duh. That's how it has always been, and how it shall always be. Praise be the Almighty Dollar. Praise be money: The root of all good.
Jeff Kreisler's first book, "Get Rich Cheating," is now available from Harper Collins.
GetRichCheating.com
"Just by reading this book you'll earn an asterisk next to your name. You'll be laughing all the way to the bank, assuming other cheaters haven't forced it into bankruptcy yet." - Rachel Maddow
"A very funny book with a very timely message" - Terry Jones (Monty Python)