Posted on 09/15/2008 5:31:42 AM PDT by SJackson
It has become a common practice, when a presidential candidate releases his or her tax returns, for reporters and pundits to examine how much the candidate gave to charity. In September 1992, for example, when the Washington Post reported that Al Gore, then the Democratic candidate for vice president, had released his tax returns, the second paragraph in the story noted that out of income of $183,558, Gore “donated $1,727 — less than 1 percent — to charity.” Other stories about other candidates routinely included figures on charitable giving.
Last Friday, Sen. Joseph Biden, the Democratic candidate for vice president, released his tax returns for the years 1998 to 2007. The returns revealed that in one year, 1998, Biden and his wife Jill gave $120 to charity out of an adjusted gross income of $210,979. In 2005, out of an adjusted gross income of $321,379, the Bidens gave $380. In nine out of the ten years for which tax returns were released, the Bidens gave less than $400 to charity; in the tenth year, 2007, when Biden was running for president, they gave $995 out of an adjusted gross income of $319,853.
Here is a chart of the Bidens’ giving for the years covered by the tax returns: Adjusted Gross Income Charity
1998 $215,432 $195
1999 $210,797 $120
2000 $219,953 $360
2001 $220,712 $360
2002 $227,811 $260
2003 $231,375 $260
2004 $234,271 $380
2005 $321,379 $380
2006 $248,459 $380
2007 $319,853 $995
Total $2,450,042 $3,690
To take Biden’s worst year, 1999, one percent of his adjusted gross income would have been $2,100. One half of one percent would have been $1,050. One quarter of one percent would have been $525. One eighth of one percent would have been $262. And one sixteenth of one percent would have been $131 — still a bit more than the Bidens gave.
To take Biden’s best year, 2007, one percent of his adjusted gross income would have been $3,190. One half of one percent would have been $1,595. One quarter of one percent would have been $797 — a figure Biden surpassed by nearly $200.
Looking at the ten-year total of Biden’s giving, one percent would have been $24,500. One half of one percent would have been $12,250. One quarter of one percent would have been $6,125. And one eighth of one percent would have been $3,062 — just below what Biden actually contributed.
“The average American household gives about two percent of adjusted gross income,” says Arthur Brooks, the Syracuse University scholar, soon to take over as head of the American Enterprise Institute, who has done extensive research on American giving. “On average, [Biden] is not giving more than one tenth as much as the average American household, and that is evidence that he doesn’t share charitable values with the average American.”
A spokesman for Biden, David Wade, says the figures on Biden’s tax return do not reflect the true extent of his giving. “The charitable contributions claimed by the Bidens on their tax returns are not the sum of their annual contributions to charity,” Wade said in a statement to NRO. “Like most regular churchgoers, they contribute to their church, and they also contribute to their favorite causes with their time as well as their checkbooks, whether it’s [Jill] Biden’s volunteer work with military families or the Biden breast-health initiative, or the way in which the family pitched in driving supplies to the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina, or the ways Sen. Biden has supported charities that help women, police, and veterans.”
Wade also suggests that Biden, who is famous for being the least wealthy member of the U.S. Senate, simply doesn’t have piles of money to give. “Like a lot of families that put three kids through college and have an aging parent move in with them, the Bidens aren’t divorced from the realities of everyday life,” Wade says. Still, Wade continues, “finding ways to give back is important to them.”
So far, at least, Biden’s tax returns have attracted little attention. On Saturday, the Washington Post published a 468-word story on the subject, the main point of which was that the release of Biden’s returns was an effort by the Obama campaign to pressure the McCain campaign to release Sarah Palin’s returns. After a few brief paragraphs on Biden, the rest of the story concerned Palin, reporting that “progressive groups” are eager to find out whether Palin “skirted tax obligations” on the per diem payments she received from the Alaska state government. The story made no mention of Biden’s charitable giving.
But for people who have studied the impressive generosity of the American public, there is news in Biden’s returns. “I’m not going to say he’s a bad guy,” says Arthur Brooks. “My only point is that his values are not typical American values when it comes to charitable giving. Americans in general are very generous.”
Many taxpayers don’t deduct all their charitable contributions. One reason is that too many deductions can trigger alternative minimum tax.
What’s the point? So Biden doesn’t give to charity. Why should we expect him to?
Of course that's never gonna happen because the sorry assed politicians wouldn't have a platform to stand on!
Wooooooooooow.
To Democrats, generosity means spending other people's money.™
Because he exhorts other people to be generous, and he is willing to use the force of government to persuade them.
In other words, he's a whopping hypocrite, just like Gore and Clinton. And, like Gore and Clinton, he'll get a whopping pass from the MSM.
Imagine if a Republican presidential candidate had been so miserly.
I guess it’s a preemptive shot at MSM pundits who will soon dig into Palin’s returns for dirt.
Personally, I think it’s not really our business to tell others what they should give to charity. Besides, by VP or POTUS standards Biden is poor. I think we might have had a case if he had Clinton money (income of $100m in 7 years)
The real question is how much did he value the underwear he donated to Goodwill.......(remember Hillary?)
Two different things. Where does he exhort us to be generous. I haven't heard it.
Imagine if a Republican presidential candidate had been so miserly.
Hmmm... What does Fred Thompson give? Or Giuliani?
I really don't care. And frankly, it doesn't matter to me what Biden or Obama give.
527s should expose this. MSM won’t do it. What absolute hypocrisy from the “guy from Scranton who wants to be the hero of the lunch-box worker.”
I’ll bet the Palins’ tax returns show higher charitable contributions with significantly less income.
I want the Diocese of Wilmington (DE) to see this, too.
Well said.
As with most politicians, Biden decided to keep his money and use the taxpayer's money to support his promises.
I really don’t care. And frankly, it doesn’t matter to me what Biden or Obama give.
This is an indication of character and should speak Loudly to us all. How a man handles his money and words, tells you a lot about him.................
Oh Pul-ease! His AGI puts well within the top 5% of all earners.
What politician isn't?
He is exhorting you through the government tax system.
Unless I missed something there's only one candidate that's for abolishing the tax system.
Of course, Biden wants to spend my money. They all do. Even McCain. But, searching for his charitable contributions is an exercise in futility. We all know that.
Hogwash, I say. Attending church on Sundays is now considered part of the tithe?
As with most politicians, Biden decided to keep his money and use the taxpayer's money to support his promises.
It fits the pattern of liberals: miserly with their OWN money, generous with OURS. They want to do good works using the powers of their offices by raising compulsory taxes, not by opening their own wallets. Study after study has shown that liberals give a much smaller percentage of their own money to charity than conservatives do. Heck, on less than 1/2 of what the Biden’s earned, my husband and I gave several thousand each year. And we can’t itemize!
No, it isn't. It's a moral decision.
However, leftists seem to equate confiscation of the wealth of others with personal dedication to charity, and I have yet to get a satisfactory answer out of a lib on this issue.
It makes me "punch 'em in the mouth" angry sometimes.
His family made over $210,000 one year. He's not poor, or at least shouldn't be.
People who don't make 6 figures regularly give 10 percent to their church.
If Joe Biden can't find more than $120 to give to charity out of an income of $210,000, that shows he is incapable of doing a budget, or cutting spending in any way. Which means we don't want him as President.
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