Posted on 03/25/2009 5:49:27 PM PDT by stevelackner
President Obama has proposed decreasing the charitable tax deduction for wealthy taxpayers. The USA Today reports that "Obama's proposed 2010 federal budget contains a 7% cut in charitable tax deductions for the nation's wealthiest taxpayers... Americans whose household income exceeds $250,000 a year...can currently save $350 in taxes for every $1,000 donated to charity; under Obama's plan, that amount would drop to $280 per $1,000 donation." Speaking at a news conference Tuesday evening, Obama said "there's very little evidence that this has a significant impact on charitable giving." He went on to say that "if it's really a charitable contribution, I'm assuming that that shouldn't be the determining factor as to whether you're giving that $100 to the homeless shelter down the street."
"By doing this, you raise the cost of giving" said Roberton Williams, a senior fellow at The Tax Policy Center, a liberal Washington think tank. Williams' estimates directly contradict those of Obama who says there will be no significant impact on charitable giving. The USA Today reports that "by Williams' calculations the change will result in a 10% drop in charitable giving by wealthy Americans, who typically contribute about 20% of all charitable dollars. In real dollars, Williams projects a decline of about $6 billion in charitable donations because of the change."
It seems especially relevant to examine Barack Obama's own charitable giving as he lectures Americans about what the "determining factor" in giving charity should be and as he prepares to cut charitable deductions. Obama's own charitable giving reveals that Obama has no moral authority to stand behind his podium and lecture other Americans about charitable giving. Professor Arthur C. Brooks, the Louis A. Bantle Professor at the Syracuse University's Maxwell School and a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, has written about the charitable giving of Barack Obama. Professor Brooks notes that "between 2000 and 2004" the Obamas "gave less than one percent of their income to charity, far lower than the national average. Their giving rose to a laudable five percent in 2005 and six percent in 2006, with the explosion of their annual income to near $1 million, and the advent of Mr. Obama’s national political aspirations (representing a rare case in which political ambition apparently led to social benefit). According to an Obama spokesman, the couple’s miserly charity until 2005 'was as generous as they could be at the time,' given their personal expenses. In other words, despite an annual average income over the period of about $244,000, they simply could not afford to give anything meaningful.... The Obamas got rich in 2005. Their income increased sevenfold from 2004 to 2005, mostly because of Mr. Obama’s book royalties, and stayed very high in 2006 for the same reason. In 2005, another wealthy political couple with significant book royalties was Mr. and Mrs. Cheney, who had a combined income of $8.8 million, largely due to Mrs. Cheney’s books and the couple’s investment income. Just how much did the Cheneys give to charity from their bonanza? A measly 78 percent of their income, or $6.9 million. (No, that is not a misprint.)"
He’s taxing formerly non taxable foundations, organizations, etc. They are talking about taxing CO2, the air we breathe. It’s not that much of a leap to heart monitors. They can tax us per beat.
Charity is a good thing.
Big government is an anathema.
The “messiah” needs everyone to be dependent on his government. Charities too! He doesn’t want to be a one term president.
I wonder how long before he taxes Chruches?
I hope he’s not a one-YEAR president.
The ones that will suffer will be the Opera, Museums, and high falutin” “charities”. Good people will still give to their Churches.
The Obamoron continues to prove on the world stage that he is a clueless idiot.
Meanwhile, the rest of the world is enjoying laughing at us squirm under the glare of lights that have focused on Washington ever since the circus came to town.
Question is, will they still be laughing the next time they need our help and there is no money and no resources to help out??
No money to a organization that supports life or that supports the Bible or that supports freedom of the individual.
The Presidential ‘Prompter A-Hole Spaeketh!
WRONG!
Real charity is when you give till it hurts...not when you just give what you can comfortably spare.
Now maybe for some that $100 bucks really cuts into their budget...that is exactly the one who he is hurting with these changes!
Obama could send an extra hundred to his brother who lives in a tin hut....
“Good people will still give to their Churches.”
nope, you think Obama and his liberal friends want the churches to survive when everything else is going under? They hate religion first and foremost.
and btw I don’t see what is so liberal about operas. Opera singers actually care about classical skill and quality, unlike most of the pop junk we hear all the time.
I heard on the radio today that the Obama’s gave less than 1% of their income to charity last year. Less than 1%. Not sure if it is accurate information, of course, but if it is true, it’s quite revealing.
You have this precisely correct. It's one of the ways in which leftwing thinking is totally at odds with traditional civic beliefs in the U.S. and somewhat similar previous, traditional civic beliefs in the Western world, generally. Leftists take every good thing and turn it on its head. They hate virtue because every vitue must come from government and be dangled in front of a helpless and resentful populace to gain compliance. Reading posts to leftwing internet sites is absolutely stunning for those who can stand it. There truly are a lot of really dangerously deluded people in this country today, a product of our wonderful educational system (both public and private/exclusive). "Woe to them who call evil good and good evil."
OK, I agree: It's just not fair. Given that logic, if someone who makes $10,000,000 is taxed at nearly 40%, while someone who makes $50,000 is taxed at 28%, well, that's just not fair either. The $10,000,000 earner is being treated unfairly, by Obama's own logic.
There can only be ONE real reason for this. Because leftists hate the idea that Charities operate outside of government control. They want to hurt, and if possible, put independent charities out of business.
Mark
This is also correct. Christianity is in for some increasingly rough treatment in this country. Be ready.
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