For Goodness’ Sake: A Two-Part Proposal for Remedying the U.S. Charity/Justice Imbalance
Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law Research Paper No. 2015-7
Virginia Journal of Social Policy and the Law, Vol. 23, 2016
50 Pages Posted: 1 Feb 2015 Last revised: 29 Apr 2020
Date Written: July 8, 2015
Abstract
The U.S. approach to addressing economic and social needs strongly favors individual and corporate charity over the establishment and enforcement of economic and social rights. This charity/justice imbalance has a severely negative impact on the nation’s poor, who despite the overall U.S. wealth struggle with inadequate access to healthcare, housing, and nutrition. This article suggests a two-part approach for remedying the charity/justice imbalance in the U.S.: First, the U.S. should eliminate the charitable tax deduction, a policy creation that does not effectively address economic and social needs, forces an inequitable poverty relief and tax burden on the middle class, and lulls the nation into a false sense of complacency about its poverty crisis. Second, the U.S. should replace the deduction with ratification of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. This two-part process would reverse the U.S. legacy of avoiding enforceable commitments to economic and social rights. Charity would take a step back; justice a step forward.
Keywords: Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; Charitable Tax Deduction
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation