By Molly Snyder Senior Writer Published Jan 27, 2012 at 4:13 PM

You can count on two things in January: an ugly, post-holidays credit card bill in your mailbox and sightings of people dressed in Statue of Liberty costumes dancing on city corners waving signs.

These folks work for Liberty Tax Service, the third largest tax preparation company in the market. And they are cheerful. I mean, really cheerful and super high energy. They're smiling, waving, dancing around. Aren't they cold? Aren't they resentful of a seasonal job that requires them to wear a velvety, turquoise robe and crown to work?

Earlier today, I stopped at Locust and Holton Streets and chatted with Victory Green, a 42-year-old working the job for a second tax season. I asked him the questions I have wondered for dozens of tax seasons now.

OnMilwaukee.com: How long are your shifts?

Victory Green: Four hours.

OMC: How much do you get paid?

VG: $7.50 an hour.

OMC: Do you ever get cold out here?

VG: Not if I dress right. (He has a sweatshirt and a winter coat on under the costume).

OMC: Does your employer tell you to dance around?

VG: Yes, it's part of the job.

OMC: Does it work?

VG: It works. You get a lot of waves, horns, people bust smiles. I like to see people smile.

OMC: Do people yell stuff out their windows at you?

VG: I've gotten some middle fingers and once in a blue moon you get something really un-nice.

OMC: Do you like this job?

VG: It's all in how you look at it. And it beats nothing.


Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.

Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.