Long time no write

Tax appointment cancelled, had a minute between things. No air conditioning at TML right now. Really Really Really hot. It is 75 outside but it is cooler out there than inside. No air movement. Just stuffy office.

Last two months reflections below.

Dear Loved Ones, January/February 2009


I have finally reached the lull in Tax Season. We had a mad rush in the beginning of everybody who wanted their money yesterday and now I am waiting for all the people who then realize that April 15 is sooner than they think. Touching Miami with Love has done 176 tax returns as of right now (3/2 at 12:30 my lunch break). That means that I have personally done over half of that and quality reviewed another good portion of the rest.

I have talked a lot about taking classes in the last letters but not explained how or why we do the taxes. The Prosperity Campaign provides a variety of help from affordable cell phones to prescription assistance to foreclosure to immigration services just to name a few. J TML has a contract through Human Services Coalition who has a grant through PC to do 200 tax returns. So we will definitely make our numbers which makes my bosses really happy.

Although some days have been super stressful (crazy clients and IRS secret shopping), so far this part of the year has also been my favorite. There have been some people that I have wanted to scream at of course but overall everybody is nice. Everybody has a story to tell you while you do their taxes. I feel like I know very intimate details to peoples lives here in the community. People tell you stories of children dying, their health problems, losing a job after 28 years with Macy’s, adoptions of Deaf foster children,

There have been some bumps. One woman was angry with me that she was only receiving $300 for EIC with two kids on her return. She did not understand that the government doesn’t give you thousands of dollars EIC if you only made $900. She started screaming at me that she should get $6,000 like her neighbors. I should preface this with the fact that she was also claiming to pay all bills (including $420 rent a month) when she only made $900 for the entire year. So I pretty sure she was lying to me anyways and I can refuse service at any point. I have been thinking a lot about government policies. There are many people that try to cheat the system so I see why the government tries to cover all the bases it can (why the retired lady can’t qualify). One person admitted to me about how they know people who tell their children to act a certain way in school so that the child will be labeled disabled to receive SSI benefits. Also, on a side note, I am tired of explaining Obama’s $700 billion dollar plan is not giving them direct money like Bush’s stimulus payment to people over and over and over in the year 2009. For an all black (yes black because this includes the Haitian and Jamaican population here) community who was so excited to have Obama elected they can get pissed that they aren’t getting another ESP. I am sorry I am generalizing now. Just most people get angry not all.

You might be wondering how life is outside of taxes. I got to go back to Austin for 48 hours (literally). I surprised Amanda for her wedding, attended her birthday breakfast, attended Sarah’s birthday party, attended a Battlestar Galactica dinner watching get together, and had lunch with my sister. A very busy weekend but I am glad I was able to see as many people as I could (especially others that came from out of town for the wedding as well). My second plane to come back to Miami had a “precautionary stop” in Tampa because of the fuel light. This made my trip home a little stressful since it took 11 hours from Austin to Miami (well 10 if you don’t count the hour that disappears mysteriously when you head too far East). Everything is fine. We got a new intern at TML just in time for tax season so he can take all the odd jobs that I did so I can focus solely on taxes.


Love,



Rachael Bauman