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Senators Remove Charitable Deduction Cap Proposal From Jobs Bill

Senators Remove Charitable Deduction Cap Proposal From Jobs Bill

In response to an announcement by Senate majority leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) that a provision in the American Jobs Act capping the charitable deduction at 28 percent had been removed from the bill, Independent Sector is calling on charities and foundations to remain steadfast in their efforts to block similar attempts to cap or eliminate tax incentives for charitable giving.

According to IS president and CEO Diana Aviv, nonprofit organizations reached out vigorously to lawmakers to share their concerns about such a cap and to explain why tax incentives designed to encourage charitable giving are critical to nonprofits and the communities they serve. But while lawmakers in both major parties indicated they do not support a lower cap on charitable deductions, such a cap has been put forward by the Obama administration four times as a source of revenue that could be used to help reduce the deficit and pay for other priorities. Indeed, while Reid removed the provision from the jobs bill, it remains in the White House's formal recommendations to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, or so-called "Super Committee."

"Our message that the charitable deduction spurs the giving that enables nonprofits to create jobs and provide critical services has been validated," Aviv said. "We must continue to voice our strong objection to any proposals that would limit charitable giving incentives and harm the people served by the nonprofit community."

Colbert Super PAC S.H.H., a 501(c)(4)

Dear Person, Place, or Thing, Did you feel it? Last Thursday, there was a shift in the space/time continuum. There have been reports of goldfish spontaneously switching gender. Dogs and cats weeping in each others' arms. The image of Federal Election Commissioner Cynthia Bauerly appearing in a tortilla in New Mexico. Why? Because I have reached the next level and formed a 501(c)(4). I'll pause for a moment to allow you to applaud this email. As you know, when we began Colbert Super PAC, we had a simple dream; to use the Supreme Court's Citizens' United ruling to fashion a massive money cannon that would make all those who seek the White House quake with fear and beg our allegiance...in strict accordance with federal election law. And you've responded generously; giving your (or, possibly, your parents') hard-earned money in record numbers. And although we value those donations, we were somewhat surprised to note that none of them ended in "-illion." That is why I formed the Colbert Super PAC S.H.H., a 501(c)(4), to help lure the big donors. As anybody who thumbs through the tax code on the toilet knows, a 501(c)(4) organization is a nonprofit that can take unlimited donations and never has to report the donors. This should be especially helpful considering that establishing this new 501(c)(4) has quadrupled our parentheses budget. Already, we have gotten a massive donation from [NAME WITHHELD], a kind and [ADJECTIVE WITHHELD] person who only wants to [OBJECTIVE WITHHELD]. Now we are boldly and transparently entering a new era of secrecy, because as of last Thursday, we all just got one day closer to Making a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow. XXOO$$, Stephen Colbert President and Assistant Custodian of the Star Chamber, Americans For A Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow Paid for by Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. www.colbertsuperpac.com

Hinds County Democrats Annual Beans and Greens Dinner

Hinds County Democrats Executive Committee Annual Beans and Greens Dinner 10-27-2011

Rubio's right but still wrong for Tea Party

Rubio's right but still wrong for Tea Party

Cliff Owen/AP

Senator Marco Rubio, who sits just right of Michele Bachmann on the political spectrum, has come under fire from Birthers claiming he's not a natural-born citizen.

Don't believe me? Just ask any birther.He may be "rubio" (blond) and a Tea Party poster boy, but Marco Rubio, the Cuban-American freshman senator from Florida is not American enough.

No, being "rubio" (if only in name), or taking far-right political positions is not enough to qualify him as a real red-blooded American, a birther's faction insists.

Irony of ironies, Rubio, the GOP Great Latino Hope from the swing state of Florida, Tea Party darling and a supposed shoe-in for the vice presidential nod, has joined that old usurper of the presidency, Barack Hussein Obama in the birthers' bipartisan not-American-enough-for-our-taste hit parade.

I can almost hear that old salsa classic playing in my head: "La vida te da sorpresas" (Life gives you surprises).

Rubio, 40, may be to the right of Michele Bachmann and hanging in there with the likes of tough-guy Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio in his anti-immigrant positions, but birthers go postal imagining this child of immigrants a heartbeat away from the presidency.

I mean, who does he think he is?

"Marco Rubio is not now and never can be a Natural Born Citizen because his [Cuban] parents were not citizens at the time he was born ...," the blogger "Obama Release Your Records" recently pontificated.

Even though he was born in Miami, he can never be President or vice president, the argument goes. And if the Constitution says otherwise - as the 14th Amendment does - too bad. Birthers know best.

As we know by now, old birthers never die, they just keep babbling away.

Rubio has said he is not interested in the vice presidency , but has gone out of his way to prove to the GOP ultraconservative faction that he is just like them. Actually, after becoming a senator he has placed himself so far to the right that next to him even George W. is a flaming Socialist.

Liberal was always a dirty word for him, but Rubio was never this much of a reactionary. His metamorphosis from "moderate" to ultraright-winger magically happened during his ascension from state legislator to the national scene.

The son of Cuban parents even turned his back on immigrants, a position that sets him apart from fellow Cuban-American ultrafar-right Florida politicians, Reps. Mario Díaz-Balart and Ilena Ros-Lehtinen.

Now Rubio supports mandatory E-Verify, has adopted the vacuous GOP mantra "border security first," and despite past support for a Florida in-state tuition bill, now opposes the federal DREAM Act.

But no matter how far right he goes, Rubio will never be American enough for some crazies in the birthers movement.

The GOP's Great Latino Hope could turn out not to be such a good idea after all.

A poll conducted by Latino Decisions on the eve of last November's election found 78% of Cuban-Americans would vote for Rubio, but only 40% of non-Cuban Latinos would do the same. And this was during his moderate phase.

"Unfortunately for him and the GOP, Latino voters clearly care more about a candidate's immigration stance than his or her ethnicity," said Frank Sharry, executive director of America's Voice. "In the bright lights of a presidential campaign, Rubio's hard-line stance on immigration will likely become a liability in the eyes of Latino voters, regardless of his own background."

Rubio has done his best to sell himself as a real American in the Tea Party mold, so much so that he has even turned his back on immigrants. But, hey, "la vida te da sorpresas," and not everybody is buying.

Vice President Rubio? Who does he think he is?

Bachmann Missed Every House Vote in September, 58 Percent Since July

Michele Bachmann has been so focused on her presidential campaign that she has been neglecting some of her duties closer to home: namely, her job as a member of Congress.

According to congressional records, Bachmann, a third-term U.S. representative from Minnesota, has missed 58 percent of House roll call votes since July 1, when her campaign began in earnest,Minnesota Public Radio reported this week. In September, according to The Hill, she missed all 60 votes.

She has even missed several votes on legislation from the House Intelligence Committee, of which she is a member, including votes to reauthorize intelligence and national security programs.

Bachmann's congressional spokeswoman defended her, saying that her presidential campaign serves her constituents, too.

"By continuing to lead the fight against the president's job-destroying policies, Congresswoman Bachmann is serving not only her constituents, but countless more Americans," spokeswoman Becky Rogness told The Hill. "She remains in regular contact with her congressional staff and is actively ensuring that her constituents in Minnesota's Sixth District are being served and represented in Washington."

A political science professor at the University of Minnesota added that she doubted Bachmann's constituents would mind.

"Constituents want their members of Congress to be active for them in the chamber, but the reality is, when it comes to a lot of constituent requests, staff are really carrying a lot of the load," Kathryn Pearson told Minnesota Public Radio.

But at the same time, Bachmann's high absence rate does clash with one of her major talking points: that she has been at the forefront of the fight to cut federal spending. In reality, while she has sharply criticized government spending on the campaign trail, she has missed a number of major spending votes. And when Standard & Poor's downgraded the United States' credit rating in August, Bachmann called for Congress, which was on recess at the time, to reconvene immediately -- but she wasn't there when Congress did reconvene, The Hill reported.

It is always a struggle for presidential candidates to balance the demands of their campaigns with the demands of their current jobs, and Bachmann's record is not that much out of the ordinary. At this point in the 2008 campaign, for instance, President Obama -- then a U.S. senator from Illinois -- had missed 56 percent of roll call votes, and Republican candidate John McCain, a U.S. senator from Arizona, had missed just under 50 percent.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, one of Bachmann's competitors for the 2012 Republican nomination, has also had to make difficult choices about how to divide his time. In early September, when the winds from Tropical Storm Lee whipped up devastating wildfires across Texas, Perry canceled some campaign stops in South Carolina to return to Texas and oversee relief efforts. But just a couple days later, he left Texas again to participate in a Republican debate in California.

These records are common, but they aren't inevitable.

Another 2012 candidate, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, has missed only 19 percent of House roll call votes since July 1, and his campaign hasn't suffered from it -- he remains several percentage points ahead of Bachmann in most polls.

Wayne County official Mullin to return $200,000 severance

Christine MacDonald/ The Detroit News

Embattled former Wayne County economic development czar Turkia Mullin backtracked Friday and said she will return her $200,000 severance, the same day the Michigan Attorney General's Office confirmed it is monitoring the issue.

After days of insisting she earned the payout and hours after reiterating that she wouldn't return it, Mullin changed course and announced it in a news release Friday afternoon.

"I spoke with (county Executive Robert Ficano) this afternoon and we mutually agreed that giving the money back is the best thing to do," Mullin said in the statement.

"This issue has become such a significant distraction that it has interfered with our ability to focus on operations. It's time to put this behind us and get back to work."

Mullin got the $200,000 payment in August after leaving the county to run Detroit Metropolitan Airport, at a $250,000 salary. Word of the payment has caused outrage in part because it comes as the county is facing a $160 million deficit and cutting pay to employees.

Union members and county commissioners, who are investigating the controversy, also question why the severance was paid to someone choosing to leave for another job.

And it caught the interest of Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, whose spokesman said Friday he is monitoring the situation, despite Mullin's change of heart.

"This flunks the smell test, clearly," said John Selleck, a spokesman for Schuette, in a statement. "The taxpayers are being fleeced. Based on the facts as we know them, this does not appear to trigger state involvement. However, we are keeping very close tabs on this situation as more information becomes available because if a violation becomes evident, we will not hesitate to prosecute."

The state constitution bars "extra compensation to any public officer, agent or contractor after service has been rendered or the contract entered into."

Mullin also told The News on Friday she might ask the airport authority to remove a clause from her contract that calls for her to receive 30 weeks pay, about $144,000, if she is fired.

County Commissioner Laura Cox called the change of heart a "victory for taxpayers."

"It was the right thing to do," said Cox, R-Livonia. "She should have never had a severance. This is Bob Ficano's fault. He didn't put the contract before us, and he is going to have to build some bridges with the commission."

Ficano said in a statement "not many people … would do the same thing in (Mullin's) shoes."

Commission wants answers

Commission Chairman Gary Woronchak, D-Dearborn, credited Ficano with pushing for the severance return.

But Cox and Woronchak said they aren't done with the issue. They have questions about how the severance was paid and plan to ask Ficano's staff about it at a meeting Tuesday.

Hours before Mullin changed course, officials released a copy of her severance and contract. The attempt to defuse the controversy, though, prompted as many questions as it resolved.

Among the issues are that the document is undated, it's two paragraphs and it differed significantly from one for her predecessor, Mulugetta Birru. Ficano has said he based Mullin's contract on that of Birru, who resigned under pressure in 2008.

"That's weird," Cox said of Mullin's undated contract. "There are some things that still need to be answered."

The letter states that Mullin agreed to take the job as the county's economic development czar under "similar terms and conditions" of her predecessor, Birru. But she would get only 12 months salary as severance as opposed to Birru's 18 months.

Birru's contract is three pages, dated May 13, 2004, and called for him to receive a 12-month severance of $200,000, according to the document. The county released documents this week showing he cashed the severance.

Dennis Niemiec, a Ficano spokesman, didn't respond to questions about why Mullin's letter was undated, but wrote in an email it "was done in December 2008 to January 2009 time frame." An airport spokesman released the documents on behalf of the county to The News.

Differences in letters

There are other differences between the letters.

Mullin's letter states: "This severance would be paid upon departing employment, as long as you were not asked to leave for cause. You also agreed that as a prerequisite to receiving severance, you will sign a release and a waiver of claims."

Birru's states: "In the event of any change of control or a major reorganization which would affect your position, and cause you to leave the employ of Wayne County, the County agrees to provide you a twelve month severance package based on your current base salary and the bonus received for the past year. In the event you leave the employ of Wayne County for cause, the severance agreement becomes void."

Birru also received a one-year, $100,000 consulting contract when he left.

Mullin and Ficano defended the deals this week, saying she earned the payment and the contractual clauses aren't unusual.

Since then, several other development executives for counties and development agencies have said such severance deals are unusual and they don't receive them.