Poor will be helped by tax bill........

[OldWiseGuy]

.....as I intend to increase my charitable contributions with some of my tax savings. (Is this a bit cynical on my part........am I trolling? Mmmmmm.)

 

[Winken]

No ~~~ You are blessing.

 

[High Fidelity]

.....as I intend to increase my charitable contributions with some of my tax savings. (Is this a bit cynical on my part........am I trolling? Mmmmmm.)

Charity alone isn't enough, unfortunately. If charity was enough then there wouldn't be starvation, or people die due to lack of basic medical provisions or water in the world. It could be solved within a generation and that's a very generous time frame.

The wealth is there, the will is not.

Good for you for being more charitable, but taxes and proper oversight are the best way to reach the needy. Proper oversight has been lacking in most countries and the U.S. is no exception, so I don't see how this will end up helping the needy when it's likely to compound the problem.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

Charity alone isn't enough, unfortunately. If charity was enough then there wouldn't be starvation, or people die due to lack of basic medical provisions or water in the world. It could be solved within a generation and that's a very generous time frame.

The wealth is there, the will is not.

Good for you for being more charitable, but taxes and proper oversight are the best way to reach the needy. Proper oversight has been lacking in most countries and the U.S. is no exception, so I don't see how this will end up helping the needy when it's likely to compound the problem.

Global poverty is a much bigger problem than we can deal with at this time. We're stretched pretty thin.

I think there are enough resources presently dedicated to programs for the poor here. However they are being badly mismanaged; edifices for the managers, cardboard boxes for their clients. What is needed is a better system, and the poor have to buy in to it.

 

[Basil the Great]

God bless you, OldWiseGuy. I will also increase my giving to the poor next year. Maybe we can get a few more to join us?

 

[OldWiseGuy]

God bless you, OldWiseGuy. I will also increase my giving to the poor next year. Maybe we can get a few more to join us?

Charitable giving usually rises with an improving economy, so I am hopeful. Americans are a compassionate and generous people, if we are not too offended by our government.

 

[jayem]

Poor will be helped by tax bill........

The very wealthy will be helped a lot more.

.....as I intend to increase my charitable contributions with some of my tax savings. (Is this a bit cynical on my part........am I trolling? Mmmmmm.)

If you itemize, that's about the only deduction that's not being cut. Cynical would be if you're in a lower bracket next year, and make your 2018 charitable contributions by Dec. 31 of this year. That way you will realize a bigger tax saving than if you make it next year.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

The very wealthy will be helped a lot more.



If you itemize, that's about the only deduction that's not being cut. Cynical would be if you're in a lower bracket next year, and make your 2018 charitable contributions by Dec. 31 of this year. That way you will realize a bigger tax saving than if you make it next year.

I meant cynical by knowing that it wouldn't actually help the poor. I don't itemize anymore, but I used to double up on tithes so I could get a bigger deduction.

 

[JackRT]

The Trump/Republican tax cut bill for the rich is based on a thoroughly discredited economic theory known as Trickle-down Economics --- the principle that the poor, who must subsist on table scraps dropped by the rich, can best be served by giving the rich bigger meals.

I am reminded of an astute quote from Winston Churchill: "The Americans will always do the right thing ---- after all other possibilities have been tried and found wanting".

 

[High Fidelity]

Global poverty is a much bigger problem than we can deal with at this time. We're stretched pretty thin.

World hunger could be prevented for roughly what the U.S. spends on defence in 36 hours.

That's the U.S. alone. As I said, the wealth is there, the will is not.

That's millions of children under 5 that could be saved each year and for an amount of money we wouldn't even know was missing.

It's sad, really, especially when elections are won and lost over things like abortion but as soon as it comes to losing a bit of our own money, well, that's where morality ends for most people.

 

[FireDragon76]

Sounds positively Dickensian. The paltry sum you give to the poor will be worthy of little thanks after they've lost a sizeable chunk of government-funded services.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

World hunger could be prevented for roughly what the U.S. spends on defence in 36 hours.

That's the U.S. alone. As I said, the wealth is there, the will is not.

That's millions of children under 5 that could be saved each year and for an amount of money we wouldn't even know was missing.

It's sad, really, especially when elections are won and lost over things like abortion but as soon as it comes to losing a bit of our own money, well, that's where morality ends for most people.

If we can only stop those corrupt governments and those pesky rebels from stealing our food aid.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

The Trump/Republican tax cut bill for the rich is based on a thoroughly discredited economic theory known as Trickle-down Economics --- the principle that the poor, who must subsist on table scraps dropped by the rich, can best be served by giving the rich bigger meals.

I am reminded od an astute quote from Winston Churchill: "The Americans will always do the right thing ---- after all other possibilities have been tried and found wanting".

The purpose of "trickle down" ("supply side") economics was to stimulate growth, not maintain the malaise of a stagnant economy. Towns and cities that lose their "fat cats" soon dry up economically. Where the fat cats are there is money to be made by everyone who is prepared to work. So economic growth is due to supply side (trickle down) economics.

 

[CRAZY_CAT_WOMAN]

.....as I intend to increase my charitable contributions with some of my tax savings. (Is this a bit cynical on my part........am I trolling? Mmmmmm.)

I think you think you will give a lot. But when it's all done. I'm guessing you will give very little.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

I think you think you will give a lot. But when it's all done. I'm guessing you will give very little.

I used to give much more but have cut back in recent years as I prepare for retirement. I also don't give strictly for the poor. I give to a veteran's group, an environmental group, a medical charity group; whose clients aren't necessarily poor. Of course my biggest contributions have been for the preaching and publishing of the gospel (teach a man to fish, etc.).

 

[OldWiseGuy]

The Trump/Republican tax cut bill for the rich is based on a thoroughly discredited economic theory known as Trickle-down Economics --- the principle that the poor, who must subsist on table scraps dropped by the rich, can best be served by giving the rich bigger meals.

The (metaphorical) irony is that poor people generally eat more than rich people. Rich people generally have healthier diets than the poor. The poor often eat more fatty and starchy foods, which leads to obesity, lethargy, and various health problems.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

Sounds positively Dickensian. The paltry sum you give to the poor will be worthy of little thanks after they've lost a sizeable chunk of government-funded services.

Or maybe they will be very grateful for whatever charity they get.

 

[Nithavela]

Or maybe they will be very grateful for whatever charity they get.

Pro-Tip: if you keep them starving, they will be even more gratefull for even less.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

Pro-Tip: if you keep them starving, they will be even more gratefull for even less.

Fortunately the poor are well provided for here.

 

[bhsmte]

After a couple of years, will be the time to see who this tax bill helps and doesn't help.