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Generosity waned in OC even as incomes grew, IRS figures show
December 18th, 2008, 6:30 am · 6 Comments · posted by Teri Sforza, Register staff writer
Wallets were gumming up in Orange County long before recession hit.
New figures from our pals at the Internal Revenue Service show that:
- After charitable deductions in the OC jumped some 33 percent between 2002 and 2005 - to $2.47 billion -
- Donations slid back in 2006, to $2.34 billion. That’s a drop of about 5 percent.
And it happened even as the county’s reported income rose nearly 7 percent - from about $94.6 billion in 2005 to $101 billion in 2006.
Way to go, tightwads!
Orange County’s giving had held pretty steady at about 2.6 percent of income for some time; now it’s down to the state average of 2.3 percent.
To put it all in context, this wee drop in giving coincided with our first scrapes against the economic iceberg that now threatens to sink us all. Said the Center for American Progress at the time:
One word-slowdown-can define the U.S. economy this past year. Economic growth and job growth both fell in 2006 from previous years as the residential housing boom came to an end. The slowdown in employment growth and economic opportunity was home grown as consumers saw rising debt payments on the record debt built up in past years. This debt squeeze leaves less money available for key household expenditures and is already beginning to push many hardworking families over the edge amid rising loan defaults and bankruptcies.
Anyone want to guess how much giving will dive in 2007 and 2008?
Anyway, if you’re doing calculations in your head and realize that you give nowhere CLOSE to 2.3 percent of your income to charity and feel the urge to do some good in the world, click here for some handy dandy charitable giving tax tips, direct from the IRS.
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Seems to me that if the govt. would get out of our pockets, you might see them open up more for voluntary donations.
Just because some residents of Orange County had income growth, doesn’t mean that now is that time to start giving it away. Considering the mortgages of some of the homes around here, I’d say they were being prudent for not giving. Who knows when they might lose their high-paying jobs and be in same state as the rest of the country: unable to pay bills and spiraling into foresclosure and bankruptcy.
Teri Sforza, what percentage of your income to you donate? Are you a tightwad?
Sure, incomes went up. So did the cost of living (gas, property taxes, adjustable rate mortgages, insurance, etc.). And by then people had already started losing their homes (mostly through their own foolishness, but that’s another topic).
Seems to me that donating over $2 billion is hardly tightwaddery; it appears to be the average for the rest of the state. Keep in mind there was a 30% increase in the three year period prior to the drop. I also have a feeling that these figures don’t include donations of goods or volunteer hours worked.
I gave close to 15% (that’s just from my income & doesn’t include donations of goods or the hours spent volunteering) when I was still working and, though by these standards I’m hardly a charitable tightwad, I resent the implication that people are cheap if they don’t donate more.
LN is correct, if my husband & I paid less in taxes, it would free up more for us to give.
Greedy OC! No compassion!
Typical non-compassionate conservatives!!!!!!!!!!!!
The problem was poser types who only care about themselves and how much they have and how good they look. Many were spending way beyond their incomes for the Escalade/Hummer/Landrover and all of the high end clothing and designer everything, they could care less about anyone else at that time. Ironic, now some of those poser types are the ones that need help now and I don’t feel sorry for them. They are reaping what they sowed. Btw, we do give away %10 of our income and volunteer many hours each year. We were never about spending crazy amounts of money on ourselves in order to impress other. People who do must have really low self esteem.
My advice: We all should try to live below our means and share what we have when we are able. With thoughful planning and shopping it is possible to do a lot with your money to help others.