Yesterday was my first morning volunteering with TAP, where I helped 4 low income tax payers file their 2007 returns so they could reap the benefits of their Earned Income Tax Credits. My ride to the facility didn’t come through, so I took the #4 south through questionable neighborhoods to Cottage Grove and Oakwood, braving icy sidewalks and rapidly falling temperatures. Still, the experience was a good one. And it felt strangely noble, filling out forms there in the church basement, like a regular Robin Hood taking from the rich to give to the poor. My economist friends might argue that the earned income credits are a net sum gain for the poor in the long run – as, by decreasing tax revenues, they reduce the government’s ability to pay for other much-needed programs – but the short-term gains for the families I worked with are substantial. A $4,000 refund is pretty damn significant when you’re only making $15,000 a year.

Had every intention of going out last night (to a birthday party slash dance party hosted by some of my Latin-American and European classmates), but ended up staying in and getting some much-needed sleep, which is good, as I will need all of my focus and energy to make it through the mountain of reading and mid-term exam prep I have slated for today.

My study group partner from the other Saint Petersburg was here for a couple of hours this morning to work on our assignment for Competitive Strategy, which is an analysis of the Microsoft take-over bid for Yahoo. Our task? To evaluate whether the combined assets post-merger would outvalue the sum of the assets of the two firms if they remain independent. Our initial analysis suggests that Microsoft is relying on some funny math [warning: certain portions of the video linked in the preceding text may be unsuitable for sensitive viewers (or the workplace)] in its valuation of Yahoo, for which it has offered to pay a 65% premium. Need to call my classmate who worked on this deal when he was in the corporate strategy group at Microsoft to see if I can gain any additional insights into the firm’s rationale in making such an offer. 

About to venture out into the world to buy cat food and various other sundries, which brings me to the subject of this post. Current temp is 1 degree Fahrenheit, but wind chill is minus twenty. Brrr! Luckily, it’s a short walk to the Jewel and I have a hungry kitty and pages upon pages of reading to compel me home again. Time to bundle up and get to it!