Twitchy has called attention to the level of charitable giving from New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and his wife. According to the couple's tax returns, the couple earned $223,000 and gave $350 to charity.
Looking over de Blasio’s 2017 tax return. Earned $223k in adjusted income and recorded a loss of $12K for his Brooklyn homes, which he rents out. He and Chirlane say they gave just $350 to charity last year. That’s $150 less than they paid their tax preparer.
— Grace Rauh (@gracerauh) April 17, 2018
Twitchy urges: Retweet this if you gave more to charity last year than Bill de Blasio and his wife.
A tweeter named Chet Cannon says:
Mr. Progressive gave just $350 to charity???
Remember when Romney gave over $4 MILLION to charity in 2011 and the Left called him a greedy businessman? https://t.co/zJql3w1ge4
— Chet Cannon (@Chet_Cannon) April 17, 2018
Rather than personally attacking the couple, I am going to defend them. Sort of. This low level of charitable giving doesn't necessarily mark the couple as hypocrites or even stingy. It might of course, but it just might be something else: a different view of how people in need are helped.
The mayor is a progressive. He believes that government should be the first (and last) source of assistance to people. Charity, on the other hand, doesn't change society.
Feeding the hungry to the left is food stamps, not individual charity.
That government "charity" is often wasteful and programs too broadly structured to address individual needs and too carelessly administered to make sure they are doing what they were designed to do has not forced a rethinking.
Romney, as a conservative, is more likely to believe in private charity and personal compassion.
I would say that the de Blasio level of giving is consistent with the view that government "compassion" is the answer to our ills.
So I commend the mayor for his consistency. Sort of.