I've already railed on some celebrities for not giving to help others, now it's the politicians' turn. Check out what USA Today has to say about giving from the current President/VP candidates as well as some other politicians -- and my comments on each. Just to be fair, I'll list them in alphabetical order (the current candidates, that is):
Biden -- The Bidens reported earning $319,853 last year, including $71,000 in royalties for his memoir, Promises to Keep: On Life and Politics. The Bidens reported giving $995 in charitable donations last year — about 0.3% of their income and the highest amount in the past decade. The low was $120 in 1999, about 0.1% of yearly income. Over the decade, the Bidens reported a total of $3,690 in charitable donations, or 0.2% of their income. Biden spokesman David Wade said in an e-mail that the Bidens "also contribute to their favorite causes with their time as well as their checkbooks."
This is the most shocking (and frankly disgusting) finding in the whole group. You'd think that someone making over $300k could fork over a bit more to help those less fortunate. For someone who seems to be for helping others and the "little guy" (my impression of him -- maybe this is incorrect), Biden isn't practicing what he preaches. Oh, that's right, he wants the government to take money from one class and give it to another class. Too bad he doesn't practice charity himself. I guess that's the reason he wants to tax Americans with higher incomes -- he assumes that since he's making a bundle and not giving much, no one else is either. I don't know how Obama picked someone like this, someone with so little willingness to give to others. Seems like this philosophy is so contrary to what Obama (seems to -- you can never be sure with politicians) stands for.
BTW, I'm probably going to get slammed in the comments for these thoughts on Biden but I don't care. This guy's giving disgusts me. My comments are not a partisan attack (read my past posts -- I'm willing to bash each side equally), they are simply a review of the facts. The guy makes a bundle, he gives barely anything, and yet he portrays himself as a crusader for the down-trodden. This is completely hypocritical in my opinion.
McCain -- John McCain reported giving more than $202,000 — a quarter of his income — to charity in 2006 and 2007, the only years for which his campaign released his tax returns. His campaign didn't release information about his wife's charitable contributions, however. In 2006, her total itemized tax deductions, a category which includes charitable contributions and other deductible items such as mortgage interest, was $569,737, or 9.3% of her income.
Ok, I'll give McCain two reviews on this one. The first is "well done." Anyone that gives 25% or 9% of their income to charity is pretty generous in my book. But the second is more reserved. Is this really generous given that his wife's net worth is probably in the stratosphere? It's hard to tell. Overall though, he seems to be the most generous of the bunch.
Obama -- The Obamas gave more than $240,000 to charity last year, about 5.7% of their income, their tax return shows. Their charitable giving has risen with their income; in 2000, when the couple made $240,726, they gave $2,350 to charity, about 1% of their income.
5.7% is a good amount -- well above what the average American gives. Then again, when you make millions, $240k isn't that hard to give. Still, I give them credit for giving so much. I hope the spike in their giving that we've seen this past year keeps up.
Palin -- Hasn't released her records yet.
My bet is that her giving percentage is higher than all the others. Why? Well, first of all, she earns much less than most of them (about what Biden earns but way lower than McCain and Obama.) Second, she has been part of a church denomination in the past that strongly teaches tithing and giving offerings. So I'd expect her giving to be over 10%. But you never know -- I would have guessed that Biden was a generous giver too.
Average American -- Nationally, more than two-thirds of U.S. households reported giving to charity in 2004, with average contributions of $2,047 that year, according to a study released in January by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. Those households who gave to charity averaged donations of about 3% of their income, says Patrick Rooney, the center's interim executive director.
I included this just for reference -- so you can see where the above people fall compared to the average American.
Wealthy Americans -- Another study of wealthy households in 2005 found average yearly donations of $40,746 from people with incomes from $200,000 per year to $500,000 per year, Rooney says. But like most statistics on giving, those numbers are skewed upwards by a small number of people who give large amounts to charity, says Rooney, formerly the center's research director.
Again, for reference. Probably a better comparison since all the candidates make decent salaries compared to the rest of us.
Gore -- Then-Vice President Al Gore came under fire when his 1997 tax return showed only $353 in donations to charity; he and his wife, Tipper, gave $15,000 to charity, or nearly 7% of their income, in each of the following two years.
Another converted giver. 7% is very good in my book -- over twice the average.
Cheney -- When Vice President Dick Cheney was campaigning in 2000, he defended his family's charitable donations of $209,832, or about 1%, of the $20.6 million he earned from 1989 to 1999. "It's a private matter … a matter of private choice," Cheney said in 2000. Last year, Cheney and his wife, Lynne Cheney, donated more than $166,000 to charity, or about 5.5% of their income, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy.
Don't get me started on Cheney. The man's got more money than most third world countries -- he should be a big giver. So he squeaks out a measly 1% until people start to notice and now it's 5.5%? I'll give him credit for making a change, but I hope it sticks. Still, I'd say he's not really a willing giver (maybe the same as Gore?) since he wasn't that generous until it was brought up as an issue.
I know I can be a stickler when it comes to giving, but to me, how someone gives is an indication of their heart -- what they really think and believe in, how generous they really are. All of these people make good incomes and all of them want to "serve our country", so shouldn't part of their service be a personal commitment to charitable giving?
Maybe it's just me. Maybe I expect too high of a standard from our leaders. Then again, maybe I'm just cranky as I write this. After all, most of them currently seem to be decent givers.
What's your take on the issue? Should our leaders at least as good a giver as the average? Or does it matter? Is it even any of our business?
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