Joe Biden: How Easy It is to be Charitable with Other People's Money

Joe and Jill Biden just released their 2011 tax returns. They reported $379,035 in adjusted gross income (AGI) last year, on which they paid $87,900 in income taxes; and they deducted $5,540 for charitable gifts. The table above shows the Bidens 14-year history of AGI and charitable gifts and the average charitable gifts for AGI amounts comparable to the Bidens, according to IRS data via Forbes.

Year	Bidens' AGI	Bidens' Charitable Gifts	Average Gifts for Bidens' AGI
1998	$215,432	$195	$5,315
1999	$219,797	$120	$5,559
2000	$219,953	$360	$5,559
2001	$220,712	$360	$5,559
2002	$227,811	$260	$5,803
2003	$231,375	$260	$5,803
2004	$234,271	$380	$5,803
2005	$321,379	$380	$8,015
2006	$248,859	$380	$6,287
2007	$319,853	$995	$8,015
2008	$269,256	$1,885	$6,769
2009	$330,000	$4,820	$8,269
2010	$379,178	$5,350	$9,544
2011	$379,035	$5,540	$9,544

Grouch: Personally, I don't give a hang just how stingy or charitable the Bidens are. That is their business, and they have to live with themselves and their hypocrisy. But I do care when politicians start using the bully pulpit and taxpayer resources to play the class warfare card, and criticize private citizens about selfishness and not paying their fair share to the world's largest non-voluntary charitable organization, the US Government. The Bidens' behavior noticeably changed in 2008 when Joe was nominated to be Vice President due to the scrutiny he knew his tax returns would receive. Their charitable donations have increased significantly since then, but still fall far short of the average couple in their income bracket. Don't get me wrong.... Joe is free to give as much or as little to charity as he wants, but spare me the lectures and stop drooling over the prospect of taking more money out of my wallet to fund stupid ideas like Solyndra, or light rail service between Las Vegas and Nowhere, California.

HT: Carpe Diem