Ross Olson's Web Site
www.rossolson.org
  

      
Social Issues: Letters


From: Ross Olson [ross@rossolson.org]
Sent: Friday, August 20, 2010 5
To: Editor Star Tribune (opinion{at}startribune.com)
Subject: RE: Charitable giving as stealing from the governmment?

You waited over a week to publish any reaction to Mr. Vander Weide’s article then printed one from
his daughter, billed as “Daughter Disagrees with Dad’s Commentary” but it was hardly a substantive
disagreement

Letters to the Editor 8-19-2010
You still have not allowed anyone to come anywhere near touching the main implication that the
government does a better job in providing services than the non-profit organizations.

Do you have a conscience twinge about that? Freedom of the press comes with responsibility.

Ross

From: Ross Olson [mailto:ross{at}rossolson.org]
Sent: Wednesday, August 11, 2010
To: Editor Star Tribune (opinion{at}startribune.com)
Subject: Charitable giving as stealing from the governmment?

Charitable giving as stealing from the government?

A Counterpoint (“Philanthropy can have its drawbacks” by V. J. Vander Weide 8/11/10) paints
charitable giving and charitable bequests as stealing from the government and implies that it is the
purview of “the rich.” The truth is that conservatives of all income levels give much more to charity
than liberals. Also misrepresented is the myth that charities are “unaccountable.” They have boards
and contributors and are in many ways much more transparent than most government programs.
What they often do NOT do, however, is toe the politically correct line. So Mr. Vander Weidie’s trial
balloon is an attempt to pave the way for decreasing the viability of many very effective programs that
are successful BECAUSE they are faith-based. Many donors would continue to contribute but their
effective donations would be decreased by their tax rate. This is a freedom issue.

Ross Olson

Send comments to me at ross{at}rossolson.org

The URL for this document is