Obama Still Thinks Reducing the Tax Deduction for Charitable Contributions Is a Good Idea

In the Post’s coverage of the Obama push on health care, Sunday:

Obama proposed limiting the tax deduction on charitable contributions for the wealthiest Americans. That has little support in Congress, though the administration still pushes it.

And in the Post today: “More than half of Washington area charities had dangerously low operating reserves even before the recession began, leaving them especially vulnerable to service reductions in a time of sharply declining revenue, according to a new report. Fifty-seven percent of charitable organizations had less than three months of reserves — the industry standard — in the bank in 2006, according to a study scheduled to be released today by the Urban Institute, a Washington-based think tank that specializes in economic and social policy. Operating reserves are considered crucial if nonprofit groups are to weather a recession, but 28 percent of area groups had none.”

The good news is that Obama will find it impossible to reduce the tax deduction for charitable contributions when major charities are at the precipice. The bad news is that if and when the economy recovers, they’ll probably try again.