The Wall Street Journal reports on Obama’s tax increase rather innocuously.
The tax increases would raise an estimated $318 billion over 10 years by reducing the value of such longstanding deductions as mortgage interest and charitable contributions for people in the highest tax brackets. Households paying income taxes at the 33% and 35% rates can currently claim deductions at those rates. Under the Obama proposal, they could deduct only 28% of the value of those payments.
The implications, however, are far reaching.
Arthur Brooks, now the President of AEI, wrote a book called Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism. In the book, Brooks notes that conservatives give more to charity than liberals. George Will, in a column last year about Brooks’ book, wrote
- Although liberal families’ incomes average 6 percent higher than those of conservative families, conservative-headed households give, on average, 30 percent more to charity than the average liberal-headed household ($1,600 per year vs. $1,227).
- Conservatives also donate more time and give more blood.
- Residents of the states that voted for John Kerry in 2004 gave smaller percentages of their incomes to charity than did residents of states that voted for George Bush.
- Bush carried 24 of the 25 states where charitable giving was above average.
- In the 10 reddest states, in which Bush got more than 60 percent majorities, the average percentage of personal income donated to charity was 3.5. Residents of the bluest states, which gave Bush less than 40 percent, donated just 1.9 percent.
- People who reject the idea that “government has a responsibility to reduce income inequality” give an average of four times more than people who accept that proposition.
Liberal activists groups by and large depend on unions. Unions get wages forcibly taken from most workers and do not depend on charitable contributions. On the other hand, churches, faith based out reach groups, and think tanks — the bulk of all three tend to be conservative — depend on charitable giving.
Historically, as taxes have increased, charitable giving has decreased. By raising taxes on the $250,000.00 and over crowd, a segment of the population between $250K and $1 million that is filled with small business owners innovating us out of recession, Obama will significantly impact conservative organizations in a way that won’t affect most liberal advocacy groups.
I love statistics.
JDidSaint Thursday, February 26th at 2:33PM EST (link)Especially: “People who reject the idea that ‘government has a responsibility to reduce income inequality’ give an average of four times more than people who accept that proposition.”
It is hard to keep up donations when we’re already required to donate 35% to the state, (the religion of the left.)
“I’d rather go through the pain of the re-emergence of free markets than endure the long suffering of a socialist state. One is natural and comes from that spark of human desire; the other is imposed and smothers the flame of ingenuity.”-Crowe (from RedState!)
Conservatives generally
cannondale Thursday, February 26th at 2:36PM EST (link)aren’t into tooting their own horn so these findings are not a surprise in the least to me. It reminds me of the stories about how GW’s house is more “Green” than Al Gore’s yet the common perception out there is the opposite since Gore screeches so much about the topic.
To liberals, talking a good game is more important (actually it’s the only thing neccessary) than actually living it. O’s speech the other night is another good example.
First they tried to co-opt them
kowalski Thursday, February 26th at 3:40PM EST (link)If anyone remembers the 2004 elections, the fact that Conservatives and religious people generally give more money in charitable contributions hadn’t escaped the Democrats then, either. Of course at the time the main thrust of their work on NPR and elsewhere was to figure out how to tap into that.
Evidently now they’ve just decided on a different path.
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This fact could be dynamite against Obama and dems
LJ "Beaglescout" Miller Thursday, February 26th at 10:22PM EST (link)It’s clear that Obama’s claim he wanted to raise tax rates on high earners even if it brought in less tax revenue because of “fairness” was baloney. This makes a lot more sense. He really wants to fund government funded charities while damaging religious charities. The way to do this is to increase taxes on people who give their money to religious charities, and that’s why he is attacking the charitable deduction. I also expect him to try to take away the tax-exempt status of anti-abortion churches.
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