No matter who you are, at some point in your life, you feel powerless. Powerless. Children, I imagine, feel this way quite often--the Howler, feels it to the extreme every blessed minute of every day.
I've seen movies that made me very uncomfortable because of the overwhelming powerlessness of the characters in the face of the enemy. Terminator 2 comes to mind--how do you stop a monster that simply will not stop?
In real life, there is very little that frightens me--but I have seen the Enemy, and it's name is IRS.
Understanding the motivations, even having a smidgen of comprehension that it's all legal, does not help the feeling of overwhelming powerlessness.
When the IRS knocks, EVERYONE is afraid. Attorneys and CPAs listen politely until you get to the part where you want their advice (paid? HAH! Keep your money--you're gonna need it! The IRS is gonna take it!)
It's frustrating. There's no place to begin. There's no explainations--and no one wants to offer any. The IRS "Help Line" is a series of "press one now," but even taking consolation in the fact that it's in English, there's no real help there.
The best part? Knowing that if you're lucky, you're gonna get out with your skin (and maybe your firstborn--although, all things considered this past year, I might be willing to trade them...) but no one cares.
Mention the IRS and NO ONE wants to know. Don't ask, don't tell, don't listen! It's like being an entire leper colony.
So, on Day #3 of this particular ordeal, we're still breathing, reeling, and most likely, deluding ourselves into thinking that this will EVER be over.
2 comments:
I hope you get through this ok.
The IRS scares me.
~Renae~
Well, while I agree that the IRS is a soul-sucking monstrosity I can't offer much help.
Though I will tell you I once went to H&R Block and my tax advisor literally PEED himself. No, it wasn't over how much tax we owed. He just did it. Randomly. We left. Quickly.
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