I Hate the New Tax Law Change on Charitable Giving

So President Obama spoke last night. There are a few points of differences I have with him philosophically. I’m not trying be a jerk. I’m just trying to exercise my right to speak as a concerned citizen.

I want to bring up one of his changes in particular.

He is changing the tax law regarding charitable giving which will likely reduce giving to schools, hospitals, medical research projects, arts organizations, churches, and any other nonprofit by an estimated $7 billion+. Who cares, right?

Wrong.

The irony here is that the people that are affected by this change will likely simply cut their charitable giving by as much as the increase in
their tax bills, which would, ironically, leave their remaining income
and personal consumption unchanged.
So what’s the point of such a change if there is no measurable benefit? I’m not sure. I can only think of one thing:

Control and stronger centralization.

Let me be honest, there is in fact increased money allocated to go to nonprofits in the current budget. But it is fractional in comparison to the deficit to charities it creates. To say nothing of the fact that if you want to qualify for such moneys, you’ll have to “play ball” with gov’t ideals and philosophies. So?

It’s about our rights, freedoms, and right to choose.

The thing is, most people who are into bigger gov’t won’t really care about this change, because they are not the ones who actually give to charities. Not trying to be mean here, but there are dozens of studies that prove this as a statistical fact. I’m just saying let people give to what they want to give to with the money they worked for and earned. Gov’t is neither meant to be benevolent or moral. It is simply a necessary evil. I think it exists to protect the citizens and stay out of their lives so they can live their own. How can it be charitable in place of the individual? Gov’t is never the solution. 99% of the time it is at the very root of problems. And then the solution is more gov’t and less freedom to fix said self-induced problems? Really?! I say, since gov’t is a necessary evil, let’s keep that evil as small as possible. That is the best way to support and help the citizens.

And why else do I hate it?

I am no futurist, but I certainly think this could evolve. There could be time when you can only deduct donations to certain nonprofits and charities–ones the gov’t deems deserving and in line with “modern thought” and “progressive ideologies.”  You may not agree philosophically with the mission of some organizations. I don’t. I can’t stand the ACLU these days. But I still believe free people should be able to support the causes they see fit. The point is civil liberties, personal freedom, and individual choice. To me, this change in tax law is subtle shift and assault on these.

“Power always thinks…that it is doing God’s service when it is violating all his laws.”
-John Adams

*read my sources here and here*