Are you ready for this week’s absurdity? Here’s our Friday roll-up of the most ridiculous stories from around the world that are threats to your liberty, your finances, and your prosperity.
County government seizes home over $8.41 in unpaid tax
When an 83-year old retiree paid his property taxes late, he miscalculated the interest owed to the county government.
All told, he was $8.41 short. Yes you read that correctly, i.e. less than nine dollars.
So the county seized the home over that trivial amount.
Then they sold the man’s home at auction for $24,500, even though the house was worth about $128,000.
But the county didn’t just keep the $8.41 they were owed. They kept the entire $24,500.
Although this was the most egregious case, the man found out he was far from alone.
The county has been systematically robbing homeowners, selling their homes, and keeping the proceeds over much smaller tax bills than the homes are worth.
In case you’re wondering, the county in question is Oakland County, Michigan, which is part of the Detroit area, and one of the most fiscally vanquished municipalities in the country.
(Detroit even declared bankruptcy in 2013.)
This highlights a very important lesson: when governments are broke, they will plunder the wealth of their citizens in order to make ends meet, even if it means stealing a retired man’s home.