For those of you who take the New York Times…

Ever had to temporarily suspend your delivery because of, say, vacation? The Times gives you an option to donate your papers to “educational institutions” rather than just getting a credit on your bill. The way the Times’ phone-system is set up, it’s easy to do this unintentionally.

This option has always struck me as a scam only slightly inferior to “Lather. Rinse. Repeat.”

Think about it. You’re still paying for the papers, of course. So the Times not only makes money from your purchase, but also gets a tax write-off for all the papers it “donates.” I’ll bet that a) for tax purposes, the Times values those donated papers at a price greater than you pay for home delivery, and b) the number of donated papers actually adds up to a pretty substantial tax credit.

I wonder where all those donated papers really go, anyway, and if the recipients even read them….

Anyone?