worth knowing: the us tax code is as complicated as it is to keep these people in business. any attempt to simplify it enough for people to do their own taxes is met by pushback from lobbyists representing turbotax, h&r block, and whoever. if you've ever done your own taxes without one of the e-filers, you've probably had the experience of getting a letter from the irs saying you did it wrong, that they fixed it for you, and that if you want to contest their changes you can.

and the fucked up part is in the "libertarian" world and the tech world, they are treated as brilliant innovators. turbotax is cited as an example of brilliant innovation in The LEAN Startup (alongside Henry Ford). these are people whose only means of income only exists because the government protects them telling you they'll protect you from the big scary government.

always remember kids. america is 13 scams stacked on top of each other and inside of each other. everything is a scam but they all also operate as a shell game. it's never obvious how you're getting scammed until you've already lost the money. most of us got swindled the day we were born here, but a lot of people end up believing the messaging of our sitcoms and reality shows that we live easy comfortable lives and that if they come here they'll experience that.