In the budget proposed by President Obama, one of the things removed is the deduction many Americans take for charitable contributions. Barack Obama believes he needs that money for socialized medicine. Socialized medicine at the expense of your church and other charities.
Anyone who thinks government provides better service for people than the private sector or charities has never been to a local DMV office or dealt with the IRS. But Barack Obama thinks he knows better, and government is the answer to all our ills. Maybe if Mr. Obama had spent more time in a church that taught something other than Black Liberation Theology, he would have seen first hand the good works that churches do feeding the poor, saving marriages, protecting our youth, giving hope to the lost, and strengthening our communities. But in ObamaLand, a socialist government is the answer to everything, not the people, the community, or the charities on the ground.
Of course Barack Obama nor Joe Biden give much at all to charity. So I guess this shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.
While many Baptists and other Christians strive to tithe a full 10% of their income regardless of its tax implications… most fall short. Many more church and other charitable contributions happen at the end of the year because people understand their church or charity will put the money to better use than the government. Because it is deductible, every dollar you give to the church in essence costs you less. But when you end the charitable contribution deduction, this is all put at risk.
We should give to our churches anyway, and I sure will. But that giving will now cost more, and certainly that cost will affect how much many people actually give. Just ask your church what kind of influx of donations they receive at the end of the year and they will tell you how much of it they believe is because of the charitable contribution deduction. Ask any other charity, I’m sure they will tell you the same. Take that away, and how much money will your congregation lose for mission work or other community building efforts? With a budget that’s already tight, will your church or charity even be able to survive? Take a look at what they do and the budget they do it with. Do you really think some bureaucrat in Washington can do it better?
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Don’t believe the talking points that only the top 2-5% of Americans are going to see their taxes go up, paying a greater share for all the rest of us. Realistically, the cost of living will become a lot higher for all Americans because of this new budget and these new policies. From increased energy costs, the loss of tax deductions, and a health care system in which you lose control… our daily lives are going to be more costly and much less free.
Maybe you can afford to work harder and spend more to get less. I can’t.
And in this economy or at any time, our churches and charities certainly can’t afford to do more with less.
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