The money belongs neither to the 15-year-old girl who turned it in, nor to the city of Dallas. But only one is doing the wrong thing.
Dallas will keep $2,000 found by a teenager in a parking lot last February.
The money will go into the city’s general fund — not back to Plano high school student Ashley Donaldson, who found the cash in an envelope at the Pavillion Shopping Center in North Dallas. …
On Tuesday, police said under a new city policy, the unclaimed money will go into Dallas’ general fund — not back to the person who found it, as in years past.
“We appreciate your honesty,” said Dallas police spokesman Senior Cpl. Kevin Janse. “We’re going to put the money to good use. It’s not going to be wasted, but put to good use for the City of Dallas.”
Many will say the city taught Ashley the wrong lesson, and it definitely didn’t reward her for being honest, but I think they taught her a perfectly fine lesson anyway: Government is a greedy beast that behaves as if it owns or is entitled to everything. The sooner young folks learn that, the better.
By the way, click over to the story to watch video of the teen’s tale and see a poll the TV station is running on whether Ashley should get to keep the money or not. It’s currently running so strongly in her favor it looks like some dictator’s idea of a free and fair vote.
Update: And it looks like we’re in for a storybook ending. An anonymous donor has stepped forward to give Ashley $4000 as a reward for her honesty. Again, a valuable life lesson learned: The private sector fixes what the government screws up.
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