Comments on: Form 1040, Schedule A, Line 19: The Measure of a Man’s Compassion?

By: The First Tax Return: The Obama’s File Jointly

The First Tax Return: The Obama’s File Jointly — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 13:04:10 +0000

[...] I have written about this before in Form 1040, Schedule A, Line 19: The Measure of a Man’s Compassion. [...]

By: Peter

Peter — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 04:22:40 +0000

Craig,

“I disagree with the author’s assertion that a man’s giving is not relevant.”

That’s not what I said. His giving IS relevant, but the amount shown on his 1040 is not indicative of all of the charitable giving a man does. It is just one, very small, part of it.

“Motive and intent (of giving or lack of) are reflected indirectly by implication and context. It is way more important than lifestyle (appearances), especially in our culture.”

The “appearance” you speak of IS the charitable contribution line of the form 1040. Candidates for office KNOW their tax returns wil be made public and can manipulate this number for appearances sake.

You have to look at everything a man does to determine his character. A single line on a 1040 form tells us very little.

By: H. Craig Bradley

H. Craig Bradley — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 17:26:39 +0000

I disagree with the author’s assertion that a man’s giving is not relevant. In fact, how a person manages her/his money is the single most revealing fact about the person’s overall character, and values. Motive and intent (of giving or lack of) are reflected indirectly by implication and context. It is way more important than lifestyle (appearances), especially in our culture. It speaks louder than words, louder than pundit’s opinions, or any other single factor or source, in my opinion. This is one possible reason why the law requires candidates for the presidency and vice presidency to file an official financial disclosure.

The reason America is about to further leap “whole hog” into socialism and further change our society away from empowering the individual rests with our collective values/behavior. Any public anger today directed towards the “markets” or Federal government “regulators” is actually caused by too many of our leaders, bankers, and other highly placed individuals who are all too selfish and chinsy in the overall conduct of their lives and careers. It goes beyond multimillion dollar annual payoffs for executives and CEO’s of publicly listed companies and Govt. entities such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

By: Peter

Peter — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 14:23:31 +0000

Jim, the whole point of the post is that it is impossible (and unfair) to judge the degree of Biden’s largesse by looking at a single line on a tax return.

I have problems with Biden, as well. But this isn’t one of them.

By: Jim

Jim — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 22:00:02 +0000

While the man’s tax return may not provide his full measure, it is another datum for the electorate to consider. What we have here is an admitted plagerizer who presumes to lecture Supreme Court nominees. Now we know he’s a cheapskate to boot. Biden is simply not fit for his present office, much less the vice presidency.