Can you honestly say that you have always reported all of your income?
The problem boils down to this... if you fail to assist the poor, you will pay in other ways... you will pay in increase in crime, and money spent in jails and prisons...
there are people who need help... the mentally handicapped, ill, or seniors who outlived their money, people who have faced unexpected hardships
unexpected deaths, divorce etc...
Why should somebody have to go through a church to get money? What if a church contradicts their religion, beliefs or values?
I had a tenant once who expected to pay me via the multiple churches she had requested income from, and out of a 900 a month rent, she went to four churches to get money. Each wanted to meet with me, and verify her rent. Each month she tried to pay me this way, through a different church... this was highly convoluted and impractical approach to helping this person.( and she didn’t even need the help- this was her scam- get it from the church)
Section 8 would have been more effective.
And tell me why I should be given a tax break for buying rental property? I am glad to take it, but why should I get thousands of dollars a year benefits for depreciation when my homes appreciate, don’t depreciate? ( the exception being the last couple of years)
Far more money is given each year in tax benefits for the rich
Far more of our money goes for tax expenditures than budget expenditures. Why do you think Bill Gates and Warren Buffet believe the rich pay too little in tax proportionate to the poor?
They understand that they pay less percentage of tax than does the clerical help they employ.
The last place I want regulating money is the church
There are many people who have worked hard their entire life, and were met with some unexpected event that all of their wealth was wiped out... it is naive to believe that all people who have accepted charity are scamming or are not needing it. The last thing we need to do is return to people on the streets...
and if you think the church is the solution, think again...
how quickly we forget the churches from the 1980’s...
Yep, I have. It may sound dumb to you, but I have.
...if you fail to assist the poor, you will pay in other ways...
It seems to me that government assistance to the poor has escalated significantly over the past 50 years. So has crime, our prison budgets are at record highs, etc. Based on actual results, government handouts have made the problem worse, not better.
Why should somebody have to go through a church to get money? What if a church contradicts their religion, beliefs or values?
Well, a job would be a good bet here.
I had a tenant once who expected to pay me via the multiple churches she had requested income from...
She was a scammer, I would have evicted her in a heartbeat (and yes I do own rental properties). Why didn't you tell all of the churches the problem you were having? When I see someone being scammed, I feel a moral obligation to tell them about it.
And tell me why I should be given a tax break for buying rental property?
I don't understand the tax code either, but I know that if taxes were reduced it would be a good thing.
Why do you think Bill Gates and Warren Buffet believe the rich pay too little in tax proportionate to the poor?... They understand that they pay less percentage of tax than does the clerical help they employ.
This is a persistent myth. The reality is that the wealthy pay far higher taxes than the poor, and far higher than the middle class. If Gates and Buffet think they don't pay enough tax, they can donate money to the US Treasury. I haven't seen them do that. Just leave me out of the picture.
The other reality is, based on US Treasury figures, the Bush "tax cuts" have increased both the proportion and total amount of taxes paid by the top 20% of taxpayers. Just exactly how this becomes a "tax cut for the rich" in the minds of some just shows that there are wealthy, influential people, politicians, and a lot of unthinking voters who are "truth challenged". ...it is naive to believe that all people who have accepted charity are scamming or are not needing it.
I never said all were scamming or not needing it. I stand by my position that needing to take charity is proof of not having to learned how to make it in the world. Handing out money does not teach people how to make it on their own. Proper instruction does.
The last place I want regulating money is the church
I trust my church to help the poor a whole lot more than I trust my government to do the same thing. I have to admit, I do not give all my charity through the my church, more than half of it goes through other organizations, where I feel it will do some good.
If you feel so much better about the way the government handles charity, why don't you pay your taxes and then tithe to the government?
The day you can honestly tell me that you paid all your taxes (yes, on all your income) and then tithed, or even half-tithed, to the government, you are entitled to have an opinion.
I pay all my taxes, and then contribute to church and charity, where I think my money does a lot more good than through the government.
Carolyn