The Taxman Alway Rings Twice: How CT is Fucking You at the Drive Thru

by Jim Kopetz

 

    Connecticut, among few other states, has made the decision to issue tax refunds in the form of a debit card instead of the traditional check. Behind that decision lies deception, an attempt at fleecing it's own denizens. And to do so in such a blatant manner is profoundly disheartening.

    The math is simple. What costs more to produce, a check or a debit card? Quick answer: a debit card. So why would Connecticut go out of the way to pay more money to manufacture plastic cards instead of checks? The quick answer: you won't use the card. Or you'll use some of it but not the rest.

     Notice the Chase logo on your card. Our tax refund money lies in a big deposit gaining interest from Chase bank. The longer it takes for you to use the money the more the government makes off it. Also if you don't have a Chase account it costs you seventy-five cents to transfer the money. A co-worker got his card with a total of four dollars on it. Depositing it would take away 25% of the money. I myself got a refund of twenty-one dollars and immediately bought whiskey. Unfortunately I didn't buy cigarettes as well because my card now has eighty cents on it which is quite the pain in the posterior.

    Many will simply throw the cards away and not deal with the hassle of trying to access the funds. That is where the crime comes in. The government then reclaims the money and further wastes it on bureaucratic bullshit never to be heard from again.

    A check you could cash, deposit, or sign over. But plastic has limited options. Use every cent. Every goddamn cent.