The system: dirty and rotten.

In Italy, one doesn't pay for services with a credit card. Or with a check. But with cash. Because Italians like to hide their incomes. Beats paying taxes. I'm sure we Americans cultivate the same practice. But not as much as Italians. Maybe that makes Italians more dishonest. But Italians don't think of themselves as dishonest. Instead, they see themselves as smart. Intelligent. They know how to beat the system. First, they recognize that the system is corrupt. Political favors are the rule of the day. Therefore, the only way to get ahead is to become corrupt, too. To play the game. Only fools report their true income. The game is played in America, too. Not so much by the poor and the middle class, I surmise. But flagrantly by big corporations. They get political favors. And tax loopholes. Some corporations don't even pay any taxes. That's a dirty rotten shame. But that's the nature of the system. In Italy. In America. Dirty and rotten. --Jim Broede