Free Republic

There is a common saying on Capitol Hill that those who do not come to the table will become the lunch. This refers to those who fail to hire sufficiently well connected lobbyists or make large campaign contributions. Even those who do come to the table may get carved up. When President Obama called the parties making money from medicine into the White House to discuss what would become of Obamacare, most of the special interests tried to make a deal. With the Democrats controlling Congress and the White House, they knew that defiance would likely backfire. The major insurance...

The charitable tax deduction was supposed to “reduce the need for government” aid to the needy, ... but “it no longer serves that purpose, given that private charities have become advocates for bigger government.” ... Why does the Left -- which is convinced that any nonprofit that receives tens of thousands of dollars from, say, the Koch Brothers loses all independence -- not fret more about the endangered independence of nonprofits that receive tens of millions of dollars from a U.S. Senator?

The White House and the nation’s most prominent charities are embroiled in a tense, behind-the-scenes debate over President Obama’s push to scale back the nearly century-old tax deduction on donations that the charities say is crucial for their financial health. In a series of recent meetings and calls, top White House aides have pressed nonprofit groups to line up behind the president’s plan for reducing the federal deficit and averting the year-end “fiscal cliff,” according to people familiar with the talks. In part, the White House is seeking to win the support of nonprofit groups for Obama’s central demand that...

this wonderfully creative civilization which we have produced in North America and Western Europe is going to come to an end . . . through the slow but steady conquest of the private sector by the public sector.

Thune Introduces Amendment to Protect Deduction for Charitable Giving Thune's Effort to Increase Charitable Giving Draws Praise from Charities, Nonprofits April 1st, 2009 - - Washington, D.C. - Senator John Thune has introduced an amendment to the Democrat budget that would fully preserve the federal income tax deduction for charitable giving. President Obama's budget framework proposes reducing the deduction, which would result in less charitable giving nationwide. "Private charities provide essential services to the most vulnerable people in society, especially when times are tough," said Thune. "Congress and the White House should continue to use the tax code to...