I didn't blog here on either of the two previous days because I devoted what afternoon time I would have had for blogging, to instead work upon draft copies of the tax returns for my wife and I.
I ought to be continuing with that process today, shoring up and reworking those draft copies to ensure my handiwork, but due to my very poor vision, I know that I will probably be spending several more days on those returns. As a result, I felt that I had to make the effort to cram in a post today.
Besides, my wife had to go to work this morning, leaving around 10 a.m. to catch a bus ─ without her home in the afternoon today, I feel less disciplined about that accounting work.
My preliminary work where her tax return is concerned has been worse than I was expecting. If I am anything near being correct in my calculations, she owes the damned government around $1,500.
To compare, last year she had a refund of nearly $1,000.
What has happened is that even though her income over 2020 totalled well over $30,000 and included part-time earnings along with Employment Insurance and Canada Emergency Response Benefits, the only income tax taken from any of this income was from her part-time earnings. In total, well under $600 was taken for income tax.
The year before that, she had a similar income; however, something like $3,800 had already been deducted from that income as income tax withheld at source, and thus she had a large pool of unnecessary income tax remaining to be returned to her after 'tax time'.
So now she is being hit with income taxation on the E.I. and CERB because the federal government does not have the consideration to take income tax at source from these damned benefits they are 'blessing' qualifying Canadians with. Such recipients get kicked in the teeth in the subsequent year for receiving the benefits.
My only income is in the form of monthly retirement pension income. When I retired in early April 2011, I ensured that this income would be well income-taxed at source so that I would always have a refund coming to me at tax time. I will actually be getting back well under $100 more than my wife owes, but my refund is going to be needed for the coming annual utilities bill, home insurance, and property taxes ─ none of which my wife is going to be able to help out with because of that damned debt the Feds ensured she would be owing.
I had initially thought to just use my refund to clear the slate on her tax debt, but she has insisted that we need the money for those other purposes. And of course she is right. After all, try as I do, God seems to have no intention of making me a lottery or sweepstakes winner ─ despite trying to hit a jackpot for over 60 years now.
There is no other avenue by which he can work a financial miracle. It's not like I have a fabulous wealthy relative somewhere who will bequeath a windfall to me, nor do I have investments nor anything else like that which might exponentially expand into enormous profits.
Unless we find a bag of gold while gardening, there is just no other way except by lottery or sweepstakes by which wealth might fall upon us in any miraculous sense.
So it's up to us to try and keep afloat ─ I don't see how we can possibly expect miracles from God, for there is no possible way for him to create one out of absolutely nothing. He's not THAT good or powerful.
Anyway, that's what's happening in this arena. So I will probably miss out on posting on a few more days in the coming week because my eyes just cannot take the strain of both blogging and accounting. I can only withstand the visual strain that one of these activities causes me in an afternoon.
Obviously, I will have more to say in coming posts, however, as I gradually confirm my preliminary accounting work.
Yesterday afternoon was so very sunny that ─ had I not had those tax returns to work on ─ I might have sat outside and benefitted from the sunshine.
My wife, however, was outside in the latter afternoon to do some exercising. I took these three candid shots of her just ahead of 5 p.m.:
Good for her!
I may not manage to get as much done by way of blogging and even exercising when my wife is home; but when she is in a good mood as she has been these past few days, her presence for me is honestly balming (i.e., soothing).
Perhaps the final thing I will mention in today's post is that around midday yesterday my brother and I finally watched the very last episode of the series Preacher.
Of course it was a garbage non-conclusion as are so many series finales. And we're to accept that God created someone like The Saint of Killers who had the power to put a supernatural bullet into the centre of God's forehead, thereby killing Him, and assuming the Throne of Thrones.
And how wonderful that apparently Herr Starr gets to live out his life enjoying himself as wantonly as he may see fit, killing anyone who stands in his way.
Yeah, such a satisfying ending ─ well worth spending a couple of years or more following faithfully.
One thing about the petty, selfish God that I did sort of see that somewhat fits in with my own impression of Him was the presentation of God as just using us for His entertainment and little else ─ that's a big reason for our creation.
I've long felt like I'm just one of a bunch of bugs in a jar that some all-powerful 'boy' has collected together and is keeping for impassionate observation as they gradually kill each other off or otherwise die, and new ones are introduced ─ things like ants and spiders.
The 'rules' only apply to us. God can sit there and do nothing while the helpless among us get butchered by the most sadistic of fiends; but if one of us does nothing to help one of our fellows whom we see in such a situation, we are as guilty as if we participated in the murder.
It's okay for God to just sit and watch, though. He's God, after all ─ His rules only apply to us. He is blameless ─ he says so.
And that fiend who slaughters the innocent in the most hideous and grotesque fashion? Well, he can face God at Judgment, and in profound fear and trembling, undergo a heartfelt repentance and all is well ─ he will be forgiven and be extended eternal life.
Whereas some soul who wishes no harm to anyone, but has lost the will to live because even God has left him bereft, may well take his own life out of that knowing despair ─ he realizes that his life had no significance nor purpose that was in any way special as he might have once hoped of and dreamed that it did in the eyes of God.
The man or woman dies in utter hopelessness and unfulfillment, not wanting ever to have anything to do with this pitiless God. And then at his or her Judgment, he or she is either terrified beyond belief into abject submission to this God, or else the sole other option is Eternal destruction.
Do we truly have the freedom to choose if God makes us so phenomenally terrified at Judgment that none of us has the courage to do anything else but cower and abase ourselves to this all-powerful alien Entity?
This is the Being that made all creatures ─ including those monstrous things that slaughter and devour alive helpless lesser creatures.
Aww, I'm getting carried away ─ I haven't the time for this catechismic exploration today. I had best stop right here and say nothing further.
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