How to get a business license in Philadelphia

Screen Shot 2011-12-08 at 10.20.17 AM
Screen Shot 2011-12-08 at 10.20.17 AM
Flowchart researched and created by William Marsh and Ali Ahmed




For this project, we researched the process of applying for and getting a business license in Philadelphia. We were surprised to find how simple the process is, as illustrated through our flowchart. The process was rather short, and quite simple for this project. We found a helpful web page created by the city of Philadelphia detailing the steps for getting a permit. Once we had done this, we looked at the form(s) that were necessary to fill out for the business license. I say forms because there are technically two forms for acquiring a business permit, only one needs to be filled out. The forms are a lifetime, or an annual permit, which are effectively the same form, with different fees. We filled out these forms and found them to be very straight forward. There were two parts of the form that confused us that had to do with exceptions regarding whether or not the form was actually necessary, but all in all, it was very straight forward. In agreement with that statement, I can't really think of anything to change with this process. I feel like this bureaucratic process does not reflect the vast majority of processes. Based on my classmates experiences and the general feeling towards bureaucratic processes, I imagine ours was an outlier. In general, bureaucratic processes are quite complex and really do need flow charts to explain them, but that is not the case for ours.

Personal Income Taxes - Biello/Clarke

Lucid Chart HERE  -- PIC BELOW -- 

FilingPersonalIncomeTaxes

Kern and I decided to file our personal income taxes as our bureaucratic 'task'. Doing your taxes is a pretty involved process; that's why most people usually have accountants do it or use online software to speed up the process at home. But, there are multiple steps to doing your taxes and many forms to fill out. In fact, the instruction manual on how to fill out 1 of the forms is over 160 pages long. First, you must gather all of your personal files and tax records; such as income sheets and other pieces. Then you use your W-2 and 1099 to fill out the 1040. The paperwork(1040) that we had to fill out was slightly straightforward and easy at parts, but definitely had parts that were pretty difficult to decipher. 
When doing taxes, you must be very careful to not make any mistakes; because these mistakes could have severe consequences - such as being audited by the IRS. Overall, the paperwork was pretty easy to fill out using the give W-2; it's basically just simple math. If I could change one thing I would probably change the payment you have to make to file them. I believe the systems have become so complicated to ensure that there is no mistake and that 100% of all the information is accounted for. The government wants to know how much money is around and how much each person makes, so multi-step, complicated forms like the 1040 must be completed to show all information. Overall, doing your taxes is definitely easy if you file them using an online service, like TurboTax; but if that ever becomes unavailable, it's good to know that I know how to file my own taxes. 
FilingPersonalIncomeTaxes
FilingPersonalIncomeTaxes

Getting a Green Card - Visualized



GreenCardApplicationProcess

​For this project, my partner and I selected to explain the Green Card application process. This in-depth process involves filling out numerous forms with personal information regarding one's ability to get a green card. This has the primary routes of through a family member, a business or employment opportunity, a refugee scenario, or a variety of other reasons (as specific as being an American Indian born in Canada). Perhaps one of the most difficult tasks in applying for a green card is determining the easiest route to citizenship depending on the specific eligibility requirements. The paperwork for this application was not very long, but would certainly be complex to someone of foreign nationality. If I could change this process, I would make the application much simpler and provide a method for persons to submit supplemental documentation to help humanize the process and remind the government employees that their decisions are regarding humans, not checkboxes on a paper. Most likely, this system began with such an easy process, but as numerous paths to citizenship have been released, the complication of eligibility requirements has quickly multiplied. Lastly, with regard to filling out the Green Card forms for the purpose of the project, I would use fake information to ensure that the information could be distributed and made available for the public without any privacy concerns.
GreenCardApplicationProcess
GreenCardApplicationProcess

Attaining a Business Permit In Philadelphia

HowToGetABusinessPermit
HowToGetABusinessPermit
The flowchart focuses on the process towards attaining a business permit in the city of Philadelphia. The process is relatively straightforward once the person figures out what they want to do with their business. Before starting the process the one determines if their business is required to fill out an application. Charities or less than four residential spaces being rented, the application is not necessary. From there it is once files for a tax accounts and gets all their economic records on hand. The application for a business permit has many safeguards to protect against fruad so legal documents, social security, birth papers are also required to go through the process smoothly. Filing the actual application is an easier step once well prepared. As long as one has all their records it can be done in one sitting. Also one must decide how long they intend to have the business. The application fees change from annual to lifetime dependent on a persons preferences. If one plans on having a business longer than 6 years it is worth filing the lifetime application. The only real problem with the application is how vague some of the circumstance under which you do not have to fill it out are understated. The terminology used to excuse some from the application should be further up in the application. I'd question whether money would be refunded for an un-required application. Perhaps it is understated to give people more time to understand what the actually want to invest in. The application is paired with an explanation of each aspect in the form. This is probably a result of the former problems with the process.

Zac Efron

Zac Efron tiene el pelo moreno y corto y los ojos azul. En la familia, tiene un hermano mayor y una herman menor y dos tortugas. 
Screen Shot 2011-11-19 at 1.08.34 PM
Screen Shot 2011-11-19 at 1.08.34 PM

How to Apply for Welfare

ApplyingForWelfare
ApplyingForWelfare
Here's the link to the published flowchart 

Jason Davis and I decided to take on the task of filing for welfare, specifically cash and food assistance. In order to qualify for either of these, everyone in the household must be a citizen or at least allowed in the country as a permanent resident and have a social security number. Also, you need to show that you are either employed or are trying to be employed. Then, it all comes down to how much assistance you qualify for, which depends on your total income and how many dependents and disables are in the household. Welfare is only a temporary assistance, and before you are given any assistance you must fill out paperwork showing that you will work towards sustaining yourself after the welfare has run out. When trying to go through this task of learning about the process and making the flowchart, Jason and I focused on the paperwork at first. As soon as we realized that the paperwork doesn't actually explain anything clearly, I went digging into the website for Pennsylvania welfare and benefits. I found lists of the qualifications of the different types of welfare, and I went about connecting them. So, we finalized the flowchart and just finished up the paperwork. 

If anything, the paperwork was pretty straightforward, but tedious. It was all the expected questions about your demographics and your income. But, the only way you could really fill out this paperwork is if you had all your information in front of you on your utilities, health issuance, and information on every person in your household you are applying for. However, the paper work did come with explanation pages that outline certain information (which is why there seemed to be SO MUCH paperwork). If I really wanted to apply for welfare, going through the process of getting all that information and making sure it was all accurate would have taken a lot of resources. 

The most confusing part of this whole process is determining what kind of welfare you qualify for. Jason and I looked at the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families because our made-up person had a family with children. However, there is also General Assistance, and depending on how you stand with TANF and GA, you get certain benefits in food assistance (SNAP). If you don't qualify for TANF, you may qualify for GA. But, it doesn't make it exactly clear where the line is drawn. I figured out that the difference usually is that if the only reason you do not qualify for TANF is if you do not have any dependents or if it is because you are in certain circumstances where you cannot work (for a good reason), you could qualify for GA. It really isn't clear, so you would have to apply for both and just wait and see what you get. It was really frustrating. It needs to become more clear for people as to what they should actually apply for. 

So what have these systems become so frustrating and complex? I'm almost certain people went a little crazy with the "What if?" game. Going through the original paperwork, they might have seen a certain part and thought "What if this person is in the situation?" Obviously that part needed to change so it fit the needs of everyone applying. However, the people never went back into the systems after the What If game was played to see if they could simplify or make the different paths more distinct and clear. 

Alice slide

 My new slide has nothing in common with my other slide, mostly because looking at others slides bought me inspiration. I let my background bleed of the slide. With my words I made the chose to make the font white because it matched the teacup and the cards. The font chose I made because it goes with the team of Alice in wonderland, which is a very whimsical movie and book. So the curviness in the font matches the whimsicalness of the move. The quote “Have you any idea why a raven is like a writing desk” is from the movie it was sad by the Mad Hatter. 
Alice

Alejandro

Tiene el pelo moreno, liso y largo. Los ojos marrones y dos perros y dos gatos. Tiene dos abuelas y dos Tíos.
Photo on 11-18-11 at 2.14 PM
Photo on 11-18-11 at 2.14 PM