Responding to a Washington Post op-ed in which one Martin Feldstein "explains how Obama's proposed limitation on the deductibility of charitable contributions by upper-income taxpayers is a horrible idea," Jonathan Schwarz (A Tiny Revolution, 3/25/09) asks

What does Feldstein have to say about the tax code change? Well:

In effect, the change would be a tax on the charities, reducing their receipts by a dollar for every dollar of extra revenue the government collects. It is hard to imagine a rationale for taxing schools, hospitals, medical research budgets and arts organizations in this way.... The proposed tax change would apply to married couples with incomes of more than $250,000....

I dunno. I think one rationale for taxing charities in this way is that the government somehow has to come up with the $180 billion it just handed over to AIG.

Seeking a reason for this logical disconnect, Schwarz looks to the Post's identification of Feldstein as simply "an economics professor at Harvard University [and] president emeritus of the National Bureau of Economic Research" and notes "one affiliation the Post left out": "Martin Feldstein is a longtime member of AIG's board of directors. He's also a member of the board's finance committee."

Tags: AIG, Jonathan Schwarz, Martin Feldstein, Washington Post

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