modest millionaires

I think we can learn a lot from this couple.

They recently won the Illinois Lottery, but have yet to tell friends, family or even their children. The couple plan to keep their jobs—he runs a small business—and raise their children with a strong work ethic by keeping secret their loaded bank account.

an IRS agent explains…

What people don’t understand about my job is that chances are you are not the person I’m examining.
I examine doctors who expense three Cadillacs, insurance brokers who claim jet skis for business use only,
and real estate agents who haven’t paid taxes in eight years. The public doesn’t realize that tax auditors are
the only people between a balanced effective tax rate among all social classes and the bourgeoisie stealing
what isn’t bolted down. Don’t kid yourself; these people are stealing from you.

—Part of The Atlantic‘s series on job misunderstandings