The Oblivious Patron says Library Fines Should be Tax Deductible...

A few years ago, while working the circ desk around this season, a patron came in to pay their late fees.  It was in the double digits but nothing too serious.  After she huffed, puffed, and paid, she rhetorically told me and my friend, who was working the desk with me, "Why aren't library fines tax deductible?  They should be." 

Even though it was a slow night, I really fought hard to not feed the troll, and just told her, "That's the way it is."  Apparently, this left her unsatisfied so she turned to my coworker/friend and asked again, "Why not?"  My friend, who had taken some MLIS courses at this time, gave her the textbook response of, "Well, we are not tax experts so we cannot answer that question."  The patron replied, "Well, I am a tax expert and I think they should be."

Well, la-dee-da Miss Fancy Pants CPA over here.  Not sure where she got her credentials from, but I'm pretty sure anyone who has gone through any sort of training or received any level of education would grasp the basic fundamentals of penalties/fees/fines and why they are in place.

I would not be surprised if this patron has asked this same sort of question to the police officer who ticketed her for speeding in a school zone.