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Audacity of Truth
Why isn’t Joe Biden more generous with his OWN money than he is mine?
Isn’t this just so typical?
According to Vice President Joe Biden’s tax returns, he and his wife earned $269,256 in income last year, and donated $1,885 to charity — about seven-tenths of one percent.
But maybe he was generous in the years prior to last year’s tax returns, right? Nope:
Last September, Biden released 10 years of tax returns and reported a total of $3,690 in charitable donations — or 0.2 percent of their income over the decade.
The response from the Bidens – and their spokespeople – is that you can’t tell how charitable a person is just by how much money they give to needy charities. And you know what? That’s exactly right. But that’s not the left’s standard barometer of doing right by your fellow man. Their measuring stick is how much money you shell out to give each year to what you feel are worthy charitable causes.
Of course, after reports over the last couple of years of how conservatives are more giving than liberals – that “measuring stick” has probably been tossed into File 13. And if there were a stick that measured on the basis of “time given,” it should have been tossed, too. From a George Will column in March 2008:
Sixteen months ago, Arthur C. Brooks, a professor at Syracuse University, published “Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism.” The surprise is that liberals are markedly less charitable than conservatives.
If many conservatives are liberals who have been mugged by reality, Brooks, a registered independent, is, as a reviewer of his book said, a social scientist who has been mugged by data. They include these findings:
– 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.
Brooks demonstrates a correlation between charitable behavior and “the values that lie beneath” liberal and conservative labels. Two influences on charitable behavior are religion and attitudes about the proper role of government.
The single biggest predictor of someone’s altruism, Willett says, is religion. It increasingly correlates with conservative political affiliations because, as Brooks’ book says, “the percentage of self-described Democrats who say they have ‘no religion’ has more than quadrupled since the early 1970s.” America is largely divided between religious givers and secular nongivers, and the former are disproportionately conservative. One demonstration that religion is a strong determinant of charitable behavior is that the least charitable cohort is a relatively small one — secular conservatives.
The moral of that story is that when it comes to charitable giving – whether you’re talking time and/or money, conservatives beat liberals hands down – in spite of how often liberals wail about “mean-spirited conservatives” who hate the poor/elderly/sick, etc so much that they want to “deprive” them.
I don’t doubt the Bidens have given generously of their time to worthy causes of their choosing. The fact that they have given so little of their money to charitable causes doesn’t really bother me. What does bother me is that Joe Biden and so many of his liberal pals in city, state, and federal government don’t mind being more generous with MY money than they are with their own. They’re famous for declaring that they “more charitable” towards others than conservatives, but the dirty little secret is that their “generosity” involves taxing Americans higher and higher so that they (the government) can decide best where that money goes. That’s not “generosity.” Where I come from, excessive taxation and redistrubution of it is called “theft” – and socialism.
There’s something wrong with this picture, and the solution is smaller government and lower taxes, not bigger and higher. But anyone saying that these days to the elites in government is engaging in an exercise in futility. And so we stand by screaming for the conductor to listen, while the wheels fall off the train.
Frustrating.
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Vice President and Mrs Biden are parishioners at a Catholic Church in New Castle County, Delaware, and it should be noted that Mr Biden, as a senator, made something of a reputation for himself by commuting to Washington every day, and living back home in Delaware.
$1,885, huh? If we assume that the Bidens are the devout Catholics they claim to be, and that they attend Mass once every two weeks — and Catholics are supposed to attend every week — that works out to a whopping $72.50 in the collection basket every two weeks, less than I give every week, on rather less income.
Come on, his dad was a coal miner and he had no shoes and was the only one to go to college and…
Oh blimey that was me.
Biden is a corrupt moron. Notice lately no biden. Must be locked up in the basement. Even the BO people think he is an embarrassment.
“The Vice President’s office released a statement that said, “The charitable donations claimed by the Bidens on their tax returns are not the sum of their annual contributions to charity. They donate to their church, and they contribute to their favorite causes with their time, as well as their checkbooks.”
A nice way of saying that the Bidens believe that charitable giving begins and ends at their home. This is the same pablum the Bidens put out year after year. $1,885 in donations to charity pales in comparison to the vast majority of blue collar families who make far less than the Biden’s “modest” $270,000 in AGI.
Is it possible that he does not claim every charitable contribution he makes? Is it also possible that conservatives tend to donate mainly because of the tax benefits of doing so. Meaning, if I wrote a check to the local dog shelter I would definitely not note it on my tax returns in order to get a 28% return on the contribution, most conservatives would. Is it possible these after the fact possiblities affect the numbers the author talks about?
The White House said the Bidens give more than is reflected on their taxes and they donate their time as well.
I don’t know how Joe Biden found time to donate time in 2008 given the amount of time he spends on a train, the amount of time he spent running for the nomination, and the amount of time he spent running for Vice President.
Perhaps Mrs. Biden had more time in 2008, but if she volunteered in education, at her place of employment, well that is part of her job as an educator, don’t you think?
Sure, Seeryer, it’s possible. But until Plagerist Joe shows me that’s what happened I wouldn’t accept it on a bet.
Do “conservatives” take the deduction because it’s there? You bet, just like the majority of libs do. And you can bet your bottom dollar people like Soros and the Obamas take every legitimate deduction available to them, which is no different than deducting charitable contributions.
What I’m curious about, though, is how much the Obamas donated to the Church of Everlasting Hate for America while it was being run by Mr. Wright? How much of their money went into the polemics of hate against the country he now runs?
Another thing, did Geithner, Daschle et al pay their taxes this year? Just curious.
And finally, when His Hollowness starts really believing that charity begins at home (which he doesn’t at this point – remember, his actions speak louder than all his sweet rhetoric), will he stop stealing “his” charity from working stiffs through taxes and start encouraging people to donate 10% of their incomes to recognized charities, and do the same himself? Sure would cut down on the guvmint’s need for all my money.
Seeryer asked:
You know, if it happened once, maybe. But remember: Mr Biden was running for president in the latter part of 2007 and into 2008. After that, he was running for vice president. His lack of charitable giving had already been noted, and he was hardly the first Democratic politician to get called on this.
At that point, only an utter moron wouldn’t make sure that he had reasonable charitable donations to show, and he’d have to be an utter fool to not record what he gave, every time, just to have a political counter for articles that that of our esteemed hostess.
It’s an easy way out to say, “Well, we gave a lot more than we claimed.” But for a politician in Mr Biden’s position, it is a claim I find difficult to believe.
I still laugh at tax time thinking about how good ol’ Bill Clinton valued his used underwear at $3.50 a pop as part of his charitable contributions.
Keep in mind that the $1885 figure is what they donated after Biden launched his national campaign, and knew this would be in the spotlight.
The real test of character is what you do when no one is looking. For the 10 previous years, when he thought no one would be looking, that biweekly donation drops from $72.50 to a princely $14.19 – for TWO people. Like Dana, I give much more than they do annually on a lot less income.
But to go to the heart of this, recall what Bertrand Russell said when asked why he didn’t give money to charity: “I’m afraid you’ve got it wrong. We are socialists. We don’t pretend to be Christians.”
So the answer to ST’s question is that to the leftist, it is the government that should provide for everyone’s every need, and they should confiscate your earnings to do that. Charities, therefore, are in competition with the government. Not only that, but they may not distribute the donations the way the left wants. Our liberals grind their teeth when they see ST giving money to a church, when they know they should have that money and give it to something much more worthy, like, say, ACORN.
I found this while looking around the web. The money quote:
As a percentage of income, it’s about the same as the Obamas.
On a snarkier note, maybe this is why Obama is pushing to reduce the tax deduction for charitable giving. He knows it won’t affect any of his administration or his voters.
It’s a sad state of affairs when one believes it is worthless to donate to a charitable cause – any charitable cause – because it’s the guvmint’s job to take care of us all, a la B.Russell.
Seems to me when I was a growing pup I was taught to take care of family first, friends next, and then the needy. And monetarily, that was after returning 1/10 of what is rightfully God’s to begin with.
Now, I don’t give a hoot whether Obama, Biden, Pelosi or any other socialist gives to charity. That just shows what kind of a concerned human being they are to begin with. But I do give a pretty darned big hoot if they want to salve their penurious consciences with forced charity with my money, not theirs. That’s theft. And it surely ain’t real charity.
Carlos, your points are well taken. Besides, the wise among us know you “can’t out-give God.”
Be well….
I recall recently the “Great Plagiarizer” said, “it is patriotic to pay taxes”; therefore, would it not be even more patriotic to be generous to charity. Biden is one of those big blowhards of which I would love to buy him for what he is worth and sell him for what he thinks he’s worth. My capitol gains tax on that transaction would settle all of AIG’s debt.
Charity begins at home…taught to you by your parents. My parents were active in church and charities. Well known to me…since we had a family of six it was probably a big sacrifice for us all. But, we never went without the necessities of life and I can say that I feel especially privileged to have parents like mine!
I, too, continue to contribute to my church. serve as head deaconess and help with other charities in my community…my tithe is deductible, my time is not really counted.
It is unfortunate that some folks feel that the best charity has to be funnel through a government organization…image how much money is wasted on the administration costs. Sort of like sending charity to Africa and having pirates steal it.
Well, you see Kate, it is necessary for D.C. thieves to take your money and funnel it themselves. Otherwise, it may not go to someone whose vote they need, and that just wouldn’t make sense now, would it?
It also gives them a chance to hire more welfare recipients (useless mental gnomes with bad attitudes who make life miserable for as many people as possible at government offices), and to make sure the charities the money goes to are worthy, like ACORN, AIG and agribusinesses.
This country is going down the tubes. I’d be willing to bet that if some “scientist” said he found evidence the sky was green, half the people would believe it. My God said, “A nation divided against itself will not stand.” Half of America is iron (workers with morals), the other half sand (lazy dead beats looking for a handout), and it ain’t gonna mix. I’m still not believing what I am seeing. I’m still praying for America everyday though, because God is still on the throne.
Sparky, I couldn’t have said it better myself. Hey, you should have plenty of money left after bailing out AIG with that money. Would you mind swinging a little donation my way??
I’m kind of just happy that the old codger actually paid his taxes- a first for this administration?
Actually, Joe, the article only talks about how much the Bidens donated last year, it mentions nothing of actually having paid any taxes, whether due or not.
And for the ilk of Obama, Biden, Reid, Pelosi and Kennedy, charity generally begins with the theft of my income.
Heck, one of the reasons the leftists don’t mind higher taxes is ’cause the lice-infested vermin they are generally aren’t taxed anyway, and when they are it’s only by accident or they’re too stupid to figure out their own rules. To them charity is government dole.