It seems to me we have in this country what I call the “Prodigal Son Syndrome.” If you screw up, you seem to get rewarded! Turn on the television and you’ll see ads for people who didn’t pay their income taxes and the I.R.S. will “settle” with them for a nominal amount. Don’t pay your bills and live beyond your means – just file for bankruptcy leaving people you owe money to holding the bag.

In both of these cases, the debtors somehow come up with the cash to pay someone to expunge their debts. Huh?

Or turn on a talk show and you’ll hear a recovering addict say he or she has been clean for such and such length of time and the audience will give them a big hand.What about the other lives they destroyed, either directly or indirectly as a result of their abuse? Or the single mother who has a half a dozen kids by who knows how many men that lives off the taxpayers due to her promiscuity? She’s “struggling to make ends meet.”

How about some applause for those who pay their taxes, pay their bills, never abuse drugs or alcohol and/or have a stable family environment because of smart choices? Maybe it’s time to stop “rewarding” mistakes.

Michael Rusznak