Offshore accounts are not just for foreigners

The April 4 headline trumpeting the discovery that rich people sometimes hide some of their assets in offshore shell corporations is probably only news to the very young or people who have been living in a cave for a long, long time.

I do wonder, however, why pictures of Russians are shown so prominently instead of some of the reported 128 other current or former politicians and public figures mentioned in the article. I’m pretty sure at least some of these folks are Americans.

I find it hard to believe the ultra rich in this country hide all their “extra cash” under their mattresses or in shoe boxes in a closet in one of their penthouses.

We tend to point a collective finger at others, especially others we don’t particularly like or really understand, and go, “naughty, naughty, naughty!” - while our own piles of dirty laundry keep getting bigger and bigger.

This story was originally published April 19, 2016 at 4:17 PM with the headline "Offshore accounts are not just for foreigners."