Taxes and Trump

I dragged myself to bed last night because my mind was exhausted doing our taxes(don't judge me).

I am proud to say this 2019 tax return was only 13 pages long and it has been e-filed just a few minutes ago. Joseph put me on to a new free tax return program called FreeTaxUSA. Previously I had used Intuit almost from the time taxes could be done on the computer, but it seems Intuit suppressed free tax preparation to of course, add to their profit line. Disappointing. So I switched—because integrity matters to me—even if it doesn't matter as much today as in the past.

I will say I never met a person who loved paying taxes. Especially, income taxes. However, it is the cost of maintaining our government as dysfunctional as it seems to be at this moment in history. I am one of those few who has believed there is a better way to calculate taxes and collect them. Apparently, the lobbyist who stop up the wise way of gathering and funding our government including our military, our different agencies, and our judiciary believe differently. Sadly, their dollars win-they always win. Among the conspiracy theorists who believe there are too many people feeding off of cancer could think seriously about how many feed at the trough of an inefficient and unjust tax system and turn their attention to a real problem. That will never happen. Conspiracy theories are by their nature ways of misdirecting serious energy and attention away from real problems.

So, today, I e-filed my 2019 return to the few people who are working in the IRS office. I don't begrudge them working at home because I truly believe this COVID-19 is a real disease and kills real people who leave behind grieving families. I can live with longer wait times, longer phone ringing without an answer, longer responses to almost anything. I believe every person loves their family as I love my family and doesn't want to lose a single one of them to COVID.

Tomorrow, I will call Social Security for the second time because the nursing home received a letter asking why Mom returned the check they sent. Even though I called on Monday, they did not have the information to stop the letter on Tuesday. They want her to contact them ASAP. So I will call tomorrow and tell them that Mom cannot talk to them because—she is DEAD. That is why they got their check back. I might also have the opportunity to tell them where she is does not have good cell service—not that she would know how to use it—however in heaven she just might! I promise it will be an interesting conversation which the person at the other end will remember for the rest of the day. I promise I will not be unkind just memorable.

I am enjoying filling in the blanks about the DJT dysfunction as I plow through the family history of his family. Families—Mothers and Fathers can shape us or break us and DJT's father broke him in so many ways it is not possible to count them all.

Wash your hands, wear your masks for others, mind the gap and be kind.