Comments | fipplebuss: Found Money: An Ethical Question

fipplebuss

Found Money: An Ethical Question

Jul 20, 2009 15:49

This morning when I stepped out of my car at work, I found some money on the ground. It was three twenties, folded together, obviously slipped out of someone's pocket. This is a classic ethics/morals setup here - it's not so little money that nobody would care about it, but it's not so much as to be a really big deal. It's just the right amount ( Read more... )

Comments 7

thenanerbananer July 20 2009, 20:15:16 UTC

For my particular work situation, it would be about 98% that it was either lost by one of our employees or by a truck driver. And considering where I park, the chances are even higher that it was lost by someone in our maintenance department. So, I'd head there first and ask those guys to check their pockets. I also know the caliber of people in that department and would feel very confident that if one of them said they lost it, I'd believe them. So, after all that needless explanation...my answer is, I'd try to find the rightful owner.

fipplebuss July 21 2009, 04:08:40 UTC

That sounds reasonable. We rent office space in a telecommunications data center, so there's a whole other workforce that parks in that parking lot that I don't know. But for the record, I gave the money to the woman who manages the building administration for everyone, and told her the most likely vehicle that it would have come from and left it up to her to find the owner.

If no one claims it, I think she'll give it back to me. Finders, keepers. :P

thenanerbananer July 21 2009, 12:15:14 UTC

Well my job is kinda sorta somewhat in the realm of your building administrator. About 6 years ago, someone did hand some money in to me that they had found. It was an envelope that looked like someone's cashed paycheck. The person who found it quit soon after. I held on to the money for some time and no one claimed it. I think I ended up putting it into the company petty cash fund. Finders, keepers sounds like a better idea.

thenanerbananer July 20 2009, 20:20:08 UTC

Oh, and why? Because trying to find who lost it would be the decent thing to do. And I try to be a decent person, for the most part, when I'm not doing immoral things......mwahahahahahahaha!!!

fipplebuss July 21 2009, 04:10:43 UTC

Sometimes I think the only reason I behave decently is because I am highly averse to getting caught. And then I do something like this, when I wouldn't have been caught doing anything wrong, and I'm mildly surprised. And a little annoyed too - I like to think I'm more amoral than I am. :P

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fipplebuss July 21 2009, 04:03:13 UTC

Heh, that's an amusing idea, I like it. But personally, I'd have trouble putting $60 in a Starbucks tip jar - I don't want to reward the people that give me burned coffee.

:ducks and runs:

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fipplebuss July 21 2009, 21:30:19 UTC

Heh, I'm my favorite charity! :P

But the money ended up being returned to the proper owner, anyway. Turns out it was one of the datacenter's customers, who said it was the gas money his wife had given to him that morning. He was doubtfully inquiring about it, and was very pleasantly surprised to find out that it had been turned in. :)