Shortsighted Solution

Congress, looking for ways to remedy the “fiscal cliff,” is seriously considering cutting the availability of charitable deductions that have been in place since income tax collections began nearly a century ago. Such a plan would be a shortsighted solution, for it would end up costing the government more in the long run.

Lawmakers in favor of the proposal say those who itemize their taxes and who tithe aren’t likely to stop because they no longer can claim the deductions. In theory, that is correct. But in reality, churches likely will be taking in much less income if churchgoers are even more strapped than they are now.

And if church income goes down appreciably that means many of the free services provided to help people no longer would be available. These include soup kitchens, homeless shelters, addiction recovery centers, and after-school programs.

Without those in place, there likely will be a lot more homeless people looking for food, addicted people in need of treatment and latchkey kids getting into trouble.

The government will pick up the slack when people end up in jail, hospitals or mental health facilities because the programs that kept them from falling through the cracks are no longer affordable at churches.