The War on Philanthropy
Jul 13, 2009

Associate editor of Commentary, David Billet, argues that “the President’s proposal to limit the tax deductibility of charitable contributions while increasing the amount of money government receives in the form of tax receipts takes on a more ominous coloration. It suggests that Barack Obama believes it would be fairer for all if the government were to do as much as possible, and that the tasks of helping the less fortunate and keeping the national conversation as full-throated and diverse as possible would be better managed under the auspices of Washington.”

He concludes that “the purposeful encroachment of the public sector on the private, therefore, will not end with the banking system or the automobile companies if the President has his way. This is why he and others who share his ideological predilections are staging a war on philanthropy from inside and out, and why they must not be allowed to succeed.”