I presume that most of our beloved readers have day jobs—the kind where you show up, do some work, and get some money in exchange. I presume further that for most of you, if you were paying the invoice for important products for work, and sent the payment to the wrong company, consistently, you’d probably be in trouble. Well, that’s a euphemism…you’d almost certainly be out of a job.

And if your bank or employer routed your direct-deposit paycheck to the wrong account, certainly that would be a major issue. And if they did it for dozens or hundreds of customers, that would, you’d think, lead to local, state, or federal investigations, class action suits, etc.

So why does the IRS get a free pass?

Recently, the IRS has announced, pretty nonchalantly, that they’ve mailed stimulus checks to the wrong addresses—well, the envelopes are addressed correctly, but the checks inside are for someone else:

Well, at least that’s only for physical checks, at least direct-deposit is fine. Or not:

Well, mistakes happen, and I’m sure they’ll get it straightened out. Then you’ll get the right amount, finally. Unless you don’t:

But, at least, unless you’re one of the unlucky few who had their checks misrouted, their money deposited in some stranger’s account, or the wrong amount credited them, well, then you’ll get your money according to a clear schedule. Unless you are among the 20 million who won’t:

Yes, anyone who took a refund-anticipation loan from their provider, or deducted money from a refund to pay for tax preparation, or split a tax refund across more than one bank account, or did anything else the IRS decides to come up with, those unlucky folks will get their checks sometime, maybe, if they’re lucky.

Well, they call them stimulus checks, and I’m stimulated alright…to get rid of the IRS! Or at least make taxes simple, straightforward, and clear.

What about you?