Re:The Undermining of American Charity
by JoshTriplett on Wednesday August 31, 2016 @12:18PM
(#12399412)
> The tax break is equivalent to a matching program coming from public funds.
No, not even remotely. It's a mechanism to reduce public funds and leave more money in people's hands. In accounting terms, a tax deduction doesn't belong in the "expenses" column; it decreases the "revenue" column.
> Thought experiment: if you were setting up a matching program that used public money (i.e. tax income), what would your criteria be? Is that an appropriate use of public funds at all?
Almost never, no. The only case I can think of that would ever be appropriate might be as a means of allowing people to direct spending in a particular area already considered within the purview of government, allowing people to select from a variety of competing services while amplifying their spending power to allow them to afford something considered a necessity. As a means of re-introducing competition to improve quality, it might make sense. (But only after carefully determining that the expenditure in question should actually fall within in the scope of government.)
No, not even remotely. It's a mechanism to reduce public funds and leave more money in people's hands. In accounting terms, a tax deduction doesn't belong in the "expenses" column; it decreases the "revenue" column.
> Thought experiment: if you were setting up a matching program that used public money (i.e. tax income), what would your criteria be? Is that an appropriate use of public funds at all?
Almost never, no. The only case I can think of that would ever be appropriate might be as a means of allowing people to direct spending in a particular area already considered within the purview of government, allowing people to select from a variety of competing services while amplifying their spending power to allow them to afford something considered a necessity. As a means of re-introducing competition to improve quality, it might make sense. (But only after carefully determining that the expenditure in question should actually fall within in the scope of government.)