You pay. They don't. How come?
$35 billion. As much money as China will spend on its military this year. As much as Americans will spend on weight loss plans. That's how much money is owed to the U.S. government in fines and penalties from corporations and individuals, according to an investigation by The Associated Press.
And yet the money goes uncollected. Why?
None of the government agencies we contacted wanted to talk publicly about the problem, but they admit it is real. Some agencies suggest they just don't have the people to collect. Some say these offenders who have broken all sorts of regulations for workplace safety, the environment, consumer protection, you name it, often can't pay anyway. So, these regulators suggest, it is good to at least use the threat of fines to extract promises of better behavior.
Still, at the Department of Motor Vehicles in Washington, D.C., I met Oscar Keys, who had just finished paying $270 worth of parking tickets. He wasn't happy when we told him the federal government has let $35 billion of fines go uncollected. As he put it: If the government is collecting money from me, shouldn't it collect money from everyone, including big businesses?
