Can Catholics Vote Democrat?

[stinkcat_14]

Do you realize that you have to itemize in order to take that deduction? People with mortgages don’t necessarily pay less in taxes than those who take the standard deduction.

Ok, so correct that to say: “people with big mortgages pay less in taxes than those with small mortgages or no mortgages or those who rent”. It still does not make any sense as tax policy.

 

[estesbob]

Ok, so correct that to say: “people with big mortgages pay less in taxes than those with small mortgages or no mortgages or those who rent”. It still does not make any sense as tax policy.

There is very little tax policy that makes sense.

 

[shockerfan]

Many of the responses on this thread have reinforced the notion that this is not necessarily a forum for ‘Catholics’, but rather a forum for ‘Republicans who happen to be Catholic’. Frankly, this denigrating of one’s political opponents is tired. Regrettably, it seems to come up again and again, especially in election years. Very sad. I’ll follow Pope Francis’s 10 tips for happiness instead.

hmmm…describing someone you disagree with as “Republicans who happen to be Catholic”…then go on to call them out for “denigrating one’s political opponent” seems a bit like the pot calling the kettle black.

very sad.

 

[LeafByNiggle]

Also, there is no economic reason why nonprofits should be exempt from taxes.

Well, if you are in favor of taxing the Church, there is not much common ground between us that we can discuss.

 

[LeafByNiggle]

It is the ultimate in silliness on the part of the government to decide that people who don’t have mortgages should pay more in taxes than people who do. There is no rational basis for such a system.

On that I totally agree, so I guess we do have** some** common ground.

 

[stinkcat_14]

Well, if you are in favor of taxing the Church, there is not much common ground between us that we can discuss.

As a practical matter most churches would pay very little in taxes anyway since a profit is a rare event. Perhaps your parish is different, I hope so, because at ours we always run pretty close to zero.

 

[johnmann]

Non-profits don’t pay income tax because they have no profits to tax. For-profit corporations that don’t turn a profit also pay no income tax. If you want fair taxation, this isn’t the place to be looking. Churches should really pay property taxes though. The charitable deduction should probably go too.

How you label deductions/rebates/handouts is not a debate worth having. Sometimes these labels are used to express a moral position but taxation as theft is a libertarian concept contrary to Church teaching. Yes, you earned that money but the government has a right to take some of it. Don’t like it? Take it up with God. What Catholics should be concerned about is how best to promote the common good. That could very well mean lower taxes but it’s not because you have a moral right to lower taxes. If you have a problem with government promoting the common good, again, take it up with God.

 

[SuperLuigi]

=johnmann;12234310]Non-profits don’t pay income tax because they have no profits to tax. For-profit corporations that don’t turn a profit also pay no income tax. If you want fair taxation, this isn’t the place to be looking. Churches should really pay property taxes though. The charitable deduction should probably go too.

Yeah, those poor little darlings and their 6-7 figure salaries.

How you label deductions/rebates/handouts is not a debate worth having. Sometimes these labels are used to express a moral position but taxation as theft is a libertarian concept contrary to Church teaching. Yes, you earned that money but the government has a right to take some of it. Don’t like it? Take it up with God. What Catholics should be concerned about is how best to promote the common good. That could very well mean lower taxes but it’s not because you have a moral right to lower taxes. If you have a problem with government promoting the common good, again, take it up with God.

There’s no need, because the results of lower taxes in the real world (designed by God) speak for themselves:

-More prosperity

-More jobs

-More disposable income to help the Church and Charity

 

[Mulligan2]

hmmm…describing someone you disagree with as “Republicans who happen to be Catholic”…then go on to call them out for “denigrating one’s political opponent” seems a bit like the pot calling the kettle black.

Perhaps you haven’t read all of the posts on this thread.

 

[Mulligan2]

To me, your question is kind of like asking if Catholics can support Nazism. I mean, they did some good for the German economy, right? If abortion is just as bad as what the Nazis did, and it is, then do you see why you can’t support them? Because it’s just like supporting the Nazis.

Godwin’s Law strikes again.

 

[LeafByNiggle]

As a practical matter most churches would pay very little in taxes anyway since a profit is a rare event. Perhaps your parish is different, I hope so, because at ours we always run pretty close to zero.

Corporate income tax may be zero in a steady-state scenario, but as soon as you try to do something special, like collect money or acquire land to build a school, that will appear as a financial gain and would be taxed, if it were not for the tax-exempt status. Losing tax exempt status would be a big deal for many churches.

 

[LeafByNiggle]

There’s no need, because the results of lower taxes in the real world (designed by God) speak for themselves:

-More prosperity

-More jobs

-More disposable income to help the Church and Charity

Whenever I see this claim it always seems to be made in an unqualified fashion. In fact I doubt that even those who make the claim actually believe it in this sense. If it were true without qualification, then the benefit would continue to accrue right down to zero taxes. Does anyone really think that a society with zero taxation of any kind would be extremely prosperous?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Otherwise known as white flight.

I don’t want my kids going to school with those kids.

Undoubtedly the majority who fled were white, because the KC metro area, taken as a whole, is pretty white. But race wasn’t the reason for it. Blacks fled too; those who could.Go to, say, Overland Park Ks, and you’ll see black residents, sure enough. It was more middle class flight. The school system was, and remains, miserable. Nowadays in KC, if you want your kid to get a good education, you move to one of the suburban cities or send your kid to a private school. The public system itself has essentially collapsed, despite all the money it received.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Non-profits don’t pay income tax because they have no profits to tax.

No, not-for-profit only means there are no shareholders. It doesn’t mean they make no profits. Nor does it mean no not-for-profits pay taxes. Some do. Only 501(c)(3) organizations pay no income taxes to the federal government (or in most states, I believe).

Now, some not-for-profits, at least in some states, don’t pay property taxes, depending on what they do.

In some places (and this is one of them) virtually all medical organizations are not-for-profit, but a great number of them make staggeringly large profits. They just don’t pay dividends to shareholders.

 

[Crossbones]

Promoting a educated citizenry, yes, a proper role of government. But I see no reason why the need to administer the schools.

I guess we’ll just disagree on this one. I’m not sure that there is a better solution than having the government administer the schools.

 

[Crossbones]

Supply and demand. You sound like the liberal arts professors at my college who say it isn’t fair that they get paid $40,000 a year why the business professors get paid $100,000.

Again, I would disagree. Since schools are administered by the government, they are not subject to free market economies and hence not under those rules (supply and demand).

 

[Dawnia]

Yeah, those poor little darlings and their 6-7 figure salaries.

Are those 6-7 figures before or after the dot? Most nonprofits don’t even bring in amounts that large, let alone pay them out in salaries.

 

[johnmann]

Yeah, those poor little darlings and their 6-7 figure salaries.

Salaries are never taxed even for for-profit organizations. The individual pays taxes on them just as the employees of non-profits pay individual income taxes.

 

[ishii]

Many of the responses on this thread have reinforced the notion that this is not necessarily a forum for ‘Catholics’, but rather a forum for ‘Republicans who happen to be Catholic’. Frankly, this denigrating of one’s political opponents is tired. Regrettably, it seems to come up again and again, especially in election years. Very sad. I’ll follow Pope Francis’s 10 tips for happiness instead.

This type of post doesn’t address the question at all. The question is, can (or ought) Catholics vote Democrat? The answer is, NO. That is, not if the Catholic is the least bit concerned about the sanctity of life. If you are uncomfortable with confronting what voting Democrat means (i.e. enabling butchers of babies) then all the better. This thread is useful in this way. But if it makes Democrat catholics defensive and in more denial than before, that is unfortunate.

Ishii

 

[Milasol]

This type of post doesn’t address the question at all. The question is, can (or ought) Catholics vote Democrat? The answer is, NO. That is, not if the Catholic is the least bit concerned about the sanctity of life. If you are uncomfortable with confronting what voting Democrat means (i.e. enabling butchers of babies) then all the better. This thread is useful in this way. But if it makes Democrat catholics defensive and in more denial than before, that is unfortunate.

Ishii

Amen.