This election has been a difficult election for me. I am one of the few believers who voted for John Kerry. It was deeply frustrating because when I asked many believers why they were voting for Bush, I heard this basically:
"I'm against gay marriage. I'm against embryonic stem cell research. I'm voting for Bush."
Many also said that Bush was the more moral of the two candidates and many believe that Bush's faith motivates him to do the things he does. So many believers took Bush's words and the Republican Party's rhetoric at face value that that I wondered whether any took the time to look up the actions behind the words. You see, I've always thought that you measure a man's faith by both his words and his actions (or inaction). My dad used to say to me that a man's words are worth the paper that they are written on. And so, for me, voting isn't just a process of measuring words, but it's also a process of measuring actions.
"But just as you excel in everything–in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us, see that you also excel in this grace of giving." 2 Corinthians 8:7. While this is certainly not a command, it is a test for "the sincerity of your love." 2 Corinthians 8:8. In looking at George Bush's giving, one must look at tithing which can only be found on his tax return. Fortunately, his tax returns are available online at www.taxhistory.org. If you look at his 2003 tax return, you will see that he made about $822,000 last year. You will also see on his Schedule A (Itemized Deductions form) that he donated approximately $69,925 to charity. Assuming that all of that went to tithing (with none going to missions sponsoring or other charity), he gave approximately 8.5% to charity. You should also remember that the President doesn't have to pay for anything (food, shelter, travel are all accomodated, perks for being President) so it makes you wonder why he didn't tithe the benchmark 10%, especially since he claims to be a man who is principally guided by his faith. John Kerry, to contrast, made $395,000 last year and gave $43,735 to charity (more than 10%).
More to come...
"I'm against gay marriage. I'm against embryonic stem cell research. I'm voting for Bush."
Many also said that Bush was the more moral of the two candidates and many believe that Bush's faith motivates him to do the things he does. So many believers took Bush's words and the Republican Party's rhetoric at face value that that I wondered whether any took the time to look up the actions behind the words. You see, I've always thought that you measure a man's faith by both his words and his actions (or inaction). My dad used to say to me that a man's words are worth the paper that they are written on. And so, for me, voting isn't just a process of measuring words, but it's also a process of measuring actions.
"But just as you excel in everything–in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us, see that you also excel in this grace of giving." 2 Corinthians 8:7. While this is certainly not a command, it is a test for "the sincerity of your love." 2 Corinthians 8:8. In looking at George Bush's giving, one must look at tithing which can only be found on his tax return. Fortunately, his tax returns are available online at www.taxhistory.org. If you look at his 2003 tax return, you will see that he made about $822,000 last year. You will also see on his Schedule A (Itemized Deductions form) that he donated approximately $69,925 to charity. Assuming that all of that went to tithing (with none going to missions sponsoring or other charity), he gave approximately 8.5% to charity. You should also remember that the President doesn't have to pay for anything (food, shelter, travel are all accomodated, perks for being President) so it makes you wonder why he didn't tithe the benchmark 10%, especially since he claims to be a man who is principally guided by his faith. John Kerry, to contrast, made $395,000 last year and gave $43,735 to charity (more than 10%).
More to come...
posted by AlfDaBruin at 10:01 AM
7 Comments:
Thanks for writing your thoughts. I think lots of times the common person doesn't really take the time to think through the issues -- sometimes due to laziness, sometimes unable to think critically, or sometimes just b/c they aren't aware of all the pieces to the puzzle. I know I wouldn't have thought about tithing, or even realize that the information is available out there. This is extremely helpful in giving me a broader perspective of what it means to integrate faith and politics. And reminds me not to just take at face value what people say.
James 2:17-18 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
George and Laura Bush file their taxes together, everything is public. Kerry files his solo, without Teresa Heinz. If you are going to use charitable deductions (tithing) in your example, please take into account Kerry's wife income and "givings" as well. Of course not all of her personal finance info is public.
http://www.newaus.com.au/theresa_heinz_kerry.html
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous,
After reading your link, it would seem that I need to teach a class about taxes as well. Fortunately, for you, on top of being a so-so law student, I am also a highly qualified Certified Public Accountant. Your article plays with numbers to try and show that she pays a miniscule amount of taxes. If you look at Teresa Heinz Kerry's actual return (available at www.taxhistory.org), almost half of her $5 million income, $2.2 million income of it, is attributable to tax-exempt municipal bond interest income. Tax exempt municipal bond interest is for bonds issued out by cities and counties to fund building schools, roads, hospitals, and things of that nature. These bonds always pay a significantly less amount of interest than normal investments. Cities and counties cannot pay as much interest or dividend income as big corporations (suprise.. suprise). Thus, generally, people don't like to invest in them. Hence, because municipal bonds pay less interest, Theresa Heinz Kerry makes far less on the assets she has than a normal person does (your article seems to think 8% is the normal person's investment income %, but ask any investor and they'll tell you 8% would be a great return in any year). In order to encourage investing in these bonds, the federal government passed a tax law making them tax-exempt because the primary purpose of these bonds (building schools, roads, hospitals) are a good thing, which should be encouraged. So you see, your article is incredibly biased and bases its numbers on a fictional "suppose we took all her assets and multiplied by 8%" number to come up with her income. Teresa Heinz Kerry has a lower amount of income than she would if she had invested in normal corporate bonds and thus, she does not have to pay taxes on her income. This results in a lower effective tax rate. But in the end, instead of sponsoring corporations, she is sponsoring cities and counties, ensuring that they have money for schools, roads, and utilities. (Of course, there is also another reason she invests in municipal bonds. Her income puts her in the highest marginal tax rate and thus, the most efficient use of her funds is to place money in Muni-bonds. I can tell you why it's the best place for her to put her money but you would have to pay me to teach you that class...)
Anonymous,
By the way, almost all Australian media (like the article that you linked) is controlled by one man: Rupert Murdoch, a former Austalian citizen who became a U.S. citizen in order to own the Fox Network (U.S. laws, enforced by the F.C.C., do not permit foreign citizens or companies to own more than a certain percentage of media networks.) Murdoch has been pro-Bush and his media networks push a Bush agenda... (although they can publish facts with a slight Bush weight)
As for Theresa Heinz Kerry's amount of giving, that information is not available to the public. The first two pages of her return are available to the public but it doesn't give how much of her itemized deductions are charitable donations. Neither Heinz Kerry nor John Kerry has used their faith as a reason to vote for John Kerry so I don't examine them with as much scrutiny as I do Bush.
Sorry Anonymous,
I was a little rude in my previous posts... anyhow, hopefully, now you see that the article link you posted is a misinterpretation of Theresa Heinz Kerry's tax return. All I ask is that fellow believers really investigate and think about what Bush is doing in the future...
Post a Comment
<< Home