The Poor Will Always Be With You. Unions Too.

The Obama Stimulus Jr. package is dead on arrival, so I probably shouldn't waste my time, but did you know that one of the key ways the President was going to pay for it was by limiting the charitable deduction for "rich" people? Let's first define "rich people."

The President is wont to talk about "millionaires and billionaires" getting away with murder when comes to taxes. Reading the fine print, though, yields the fact that the term really means adjusted gross income of $250,000/year for a couple or $200,000 for an individual. Now this income level is nothing to sneeze at but it is hardly the "millionaires and billionaires" that the President constantly refers to with a sneer.

Secondly, folks at this income level give a lot to charity. At the $250,000/year level a lot of giving is local - churches, UGN, and other worthy local charities. Losing this income would hurt. Sandra Swirski, executive director for the Alliance for Charitable Reform, said:

"... it goes against another goal Mr. Obama outlined when he spoke to Congress last week. He said that policy makers need to make sure the neediest are not neglected ... And at the end of the day, limiting the charitable deduction is going to hurt those folks the most.”

Trust me Ms. Swirski, if it comes to plumping up his union political contributors with fat "jobs" contracts vs. serving the neediest in our society, this President knows which side his bread is buttered on. Can you say Jimmy Hoffa, Jr. pass the Wonderbread please?


philanthropy.com/article/Jobs-Bill-Would-Limit-Charity/128966/