Peter Orszag, Director of the Office of Management and Budget for President Obama, responded Friday to critics of the administration’s proposal to reduce the amount of charitable contributions that high-income taxpayers can deduct. Many tax analysts, including this writer, argued that such a reduction would deplete much needed resources from charitable organizations and further undercut our civil society. Not to worry, writes Mr. Orszag. We wouldn’t do this in the midst of a recession, and it’s only fair that high-income and lower-income taxpayers enjoy about the same tax deduction for …
President-elect Barack Obama has asked the Democrat Congress to produce an economic stimulus bill that he can sign on his inauguration day. The price tag on this bill is already in the $500 billion to $1 trillion range, so it is going to be difficult to track all the boondoggle’s on it. But $15 billion of the stimulus behemoth will specifically be for Obama’s “green jobs” program, under which he has promised to spend $15 billion a year for the next ten years. Where is this “green” spending to go? …
