churches will get ur tax money...through "charity"

[MrAngryFace]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19414473/

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court on Monday barred ordinary taxpayers from challenging a White House initiative helping religious charities get a share of federal money.

The 5-4 decision dealt with a suit by a group of atheists and agnostics against eight Bush administration officials including the head of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.

The taxpayers' group, the Freedom From Religion Foundation Inc., objected to government conferences in which administration officials encourage religious charities to apply for federal grants.

[FlameOfCallandor]

[Mandark]

Hey, let's post inflammatory images that paint groups with broad strokes!






This is FUN!





Back on topic, my instinct is to keep any religiously affiliated organizations away from taxpayer money, but I'm gonna read some analysis from a couple places before I repeat their opinions like I know what I'm talking about decide how I feel about this.

[MrAngryFace]

haha at first I thought that was one of the MAF shirts

[TVC15]

Religious organizations shouldn't be getting tax money. . .they should be getting taxed.  Tax churches that run a profit, and I bet we'd have a lot fewer budgetary problems in this country.

[FlameOfCallandor]

Religious organizations shouldn't be getting tax money. . .they should be getting taxed.  Tax churches that run a profit, and I bet we'd have a lot fewer budgetary problems in this country.

It is unfortunate that churches even make a profit. They should be putting that money back into the community.

I think the vatican is the richest non profit organization in the world.

[Fragamemnon]

Religious organizations shouldn't be getting tax money. . .they should be getting taxed.  Tax churches that run a profit, and I bet we'd have a lot fewer budgetary problems in this country.

Even the biggest of the megachurches don't run profits, though. In my experience, anything left over gets funneled into various projects, most of which are centered around the construction of large, useless buildings with the word "family" in them.

I'm not very keen on messing with the non-profit tax code right now-I dig what the Nature Conservancy does way too much.

[Van Cruncheon]

yeah, but the vatican uses that money to fund teams that fight the vampire menace throughout europe and north asia

[TVC15]

Religious organizations shouldn't be getting tax money. . .they should be getting taxed.  Tax churches that run a profit, and I bet we'd have a lot fewer budgetary problems in this country.

Even the biggest of the megachurches don't run profits, though. In my experience, anything left over gets funneled into various projects, most of which are centered around the construction of large, useless buildings with the word "family" in them.

I'm not very keen on messing with the non-profit tax code right now-I dig what the Nature Conservancy does way too much.

It's apparently trendy today for church's to build apartments and laundromats and the like, and these are apparently non-taxable since they belong to the church.  My brother in hick-land Virginia said it is pretty rampant there (but I do not have all the details myself).

[Madrun Badrun]

yeah, but the vatican uses that money to fund teams that fight the vampire menace throughout europe and north asia

[AdmiralViscen]

Are these donations going right to churches, or only to faith-based charities? If it's the latter, I don't see the problem. Faith-based charities do a ton of good for the poor, and did more for New Orleans than FEMA.

(Image removed from quote.)

What does this have to do with expression?

[FlameOfCallandor]

Are these donations going right to churches, or only to faith-based charities? If it's the latter, I don't see the problem. Faith-based charities do a ton of good for the poor, and did more for New Orleans than FEMA.

(Image removed from quote.)

What does this have to do with expression?

[Fresh Prince]

I don't see what the problem is since these grants will be given on the merits of the charitable organisation; secular or religious.
As long as they don't force feed religion down the people's throats that are using their programs I really don't see a problem.