Charter Members

My wife and I are charter members of the 99% but the only thing we occupy is our modest home in Verona, NJ.

Our status was certified once again today as we began preparing our 2011 income tax return. The numbers don't lie. We're tucked safely in the pack. In a land of more than 300 million people it's nice to know you're not alone.

We don't feel sorry for the 1%. They can buy plenty of company (or companies) and probably do. We don't have a battery of tax lawyers and accountants to pore over our return to see how much tax we can avoid.

We've been using the same accountant since the mid-60's. We've grown old together. It's a comfortable relationship even though we see each other once a year. I emailed him today with a question and I'm sure we'll be talking soon to set up our annual tax meeting.

We'll go over family news and discuss the state of the world and eventually get around to doing our tax return. It's not very complicated and doesn't take very long. Sometimes we get a refund, other times we pay.

Taxes are always controversial. And like everyone else we'd like to see reforms. We're just not holding our breath until it happens.