The commenting feature doesn’t work for me on Helen DeWitt’s blog so I’m forced to comment on her entries here.
1. She discusses whether it’s fair to characterize The Last Samurai as a beach read. I have a slightly different perspective on this: I’ve never really understood the idea that a “beach read” should be something light and fluffy. On the beach, you can relax, you have the time to get into anything. I could see wanting something light on the subway–you have to be able to get into it right away and follow it amid all the jostles. I guess the point is that when you’re at the beach, you’re far from the library. So what you really want for the beach is not necessarily something relaxing or easy to read, but rather a sure thing, a known quantity that you’ll definitely enjoy. No point sitting on the beach reading a book that you hate.
2. In an interesting discussion of translation, DeWitt recommends learning a language by reading great literature in the original tongue. Seems fine to me . . . but, I gotta admit that I think of pleasure reading (even serious stuff) as a way to relax. For me, reading a novel (or even the newspaper) in French or Spanish is a substitute for work, not a substitute for bedtime reading.
3. Apparently many people use tax-preparation software, even though tax forms aren’t really hard to fill out. One thing I’ll say in encouragement of doing your own taxes is that I used to do my own taxes and every once in awhile I’d make a mistake, but . . . it wasn’t so horrible! I’d just send the government a check for what I owed and there’d be a little fine. No big deal. Sometimes I’d overpay by mistake and they’d send me a refund check. I can’t guarantee this will happen to you, but those were my experiences.
Odd, I would have thought that Columbia U professors would make enough to be subject to the Alternative Minimum Tax. Those forms are definitely confusing.
Alternatively, maybe Columbia U professors are really smart and so find it easier than the general public to fill out their taxes.
Re: taxes, If the 1040EZ or the 1040 with no extra "schedules" is enough for you, then I agree with Andrew, just fill out the form, it's not that hard. But if your taxes are more complicated than that — and for a lot of us, they are — tax prep software is definitely worth using. The following features are good for most people: (1) If you have to go back and add something or fix something, the change automatically propagates; (2) Additional forms and schedules are right there for you in the software; (3) if it turns out you need a new form or schedule, the parts that the software already knows get filled in automatically…and all of the stuff that is common to both federal and state returns gets automatically filled in on both. Some other features are good for some people: (4) suggested deductions (e.g., "you are deducting mortgage interest on a second property…is this a rental property? If so, you can deduct for x, y, and z"); (5) if you do something that leads to complicated rules being applied, the software follows the rules so you won't screw it up.
In fact, my advice is almost the opposite of Andrew's: if you're not using tax preparation software, you probably should be. It's pretty cheap, it will probably be faster and easier (possibly by a lot) and almost certainly no harder than doing your taxes just by filling in the forms, and it may save you money (and won't lose it) through lower fines or finding bigger deductions, or both. I'd recommend it for just about anyone with finances at or above, say, the 20th percentile. That's most readers of this blog who aren't students.
Tim: I said that I used to do my own taxes. That was awhile ago. I've used an accountant for many years. I've heard of something called the Alternative Minimum Tax but have no idea if it applies to me.
Andrew, tax forms have gotten more complicated over the "many years" since you've done yours. There's the AMT, there's the phaseout of deductions depending on income level, the variable deductibility of IRA accounts, the complexities of a 1116 if you own a mutual fund with foreign stocks, the different handling of qualified versus unqualified dividends, the phaseout of various energy credits depending on income, etc.
Across the border, in Canada, almost every one I know (very informal survey) uses tax programs – they cost about $30.00 and do a loud of calculations over years and spouses …
Even if you were going to use a tax consultant you would probably punch the numbers through such a program as a (good) first step.
Maybe someone will do a study of the reasons why there is this difference (assuming there really is)
Prehaps because there never was an EZ(ed) or easy way to do taxes in Canada
K?
I have found that reading children's stories is a great way to learn a new language (and I see know reason why children's stories can't also be great literature). My French improved enormously after I discovered Le Petit Nicolas. Although I probably now speak french like a 10 year-old boy would have done 30 years ago.
My attempt to do my own taxes was defeated by the New York state tax form, I agree that the federal form was simple enough. However, I have three sources of income so my taxes are a little complicated.
I suspect US taxes are more complicated than Canadian taxes. The various US governments like to use the tax system to set social policy and to some extent industrial policy. In other countries this is done more through actual subsidies and regulations, and the purpose of the tax system is to raise money for the government.