> that money _would_ have been local/state/federal money.
That isn't true, only a fraction of the money would have been taxed.
And that's exactly the point: We are incentivizing people to give 5 times as much money as taxes would have been.
If that money isn't allocated perfectly, well, there's 5 times as much of it, I think it'll be OK.
> The government ....
The government will never do a perfect job, this way we let people fill in the gaps.
> they've given you the ability to appropriate government funds.
You keep talking as if they deduct the full amount donated from taxes, this is simply not true.
You've got a point. My argument was misunderstood.
The high marginal tax rate is 40+% not 20%.
Nope. And you are free to spend your money how you want. The point missed here is that when it's tax-deductible that money _would_ have been local/state/federal money.
The government already decided you need to return that money back to the community/country. If they give you the power to choose who gets it, they've given you the ability to appropriate government funds.