Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Holy Leverage?

Is there such a thing as Holy Leverage? I don't think so.

Church debt increased along with other flavors of debt in the U.S. Being the free-marketeer that I am, I think churches should have the same access to capital markets as any other business. Hell, let 'em sell stock if they want. But let's drop the veil of holiness on these businesses, shall we? Like all businesses they should function in the world of bankruptcy, disclosure of executive compensation, hostile take-overs, independent boards, and ... taxes! Just their fair share of course.

7 comments:

Zeke said...

Being tax exempt is like getting a love gift from the U.S. government. Just think of it like that.

Craig Bob said...

A government capable of love. That's a beautiful vision Zeke.

JBlog said...

When was the last time a government bought a brothel in Bangladesh, freeing the women and children there from a lifetime of bondage?

Craig Bob said...

That's a beautiful thing and all too rare. Under my proposal churches would get a tax deduction for that kind of activity. I would even be willing to go as far as giving a taw credit.

JBlog said...

I suspect it's more common than you are aware of -- churches and other tax exempt faith-based groups frequently do things like that, which governments and others can't or won't do.

Would you also favor taxation of labor unions?

After all, they also are tax-exempt special interests groups, but enjoy much greater latitude than churches do -- unlike churches, membership is compulsory if you want to work in the industries and companies they regulate, and they are free to endorse and fund political candidates.

Craig Bob said...

From your keyboard to God's ears! But unfortunately, it's probably not true. American churches spend 85% of their budgets on themselves (salaries, rent, debt service, etc). It doesn't leave much room for efforts like the one you described.

And sure, why not tax unions too? They're far from pure too.

JBlog said...

Well, I suppose it depends on how you define "themselves."

If the money, which is donated voluntarily by the people of the church, is going to provide salaries and facilities to serve people -- both locally and globally -- I'm not sure how that can be defined as "themselves."

Last I checked, churches don't charge admission or fees for the services they provide -- they're free to anyone who needs them.