Comments on: Should Someone Receiving Government Aid Give to Charity?

By: HIC

HIC — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:07:20 +0000

does it matter to anyone, if the person owes thousands of dollars to creditors and purposely refuses to pay them ANYTHING, under the excuse that the “charity” need the money more?

By: 100 Fundraising Ideas

100 Fundraising Ideas — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 14:33:58 +0000

This is a tough one. Even though my knee-jerk reaction is to say that he needs the money more than any charity (where even the best charity waters down a portion of donations into administrative fees, etc), I actually really admire what he did. There are way too many people who don’t give when they can; if we can shift the paradigm, even one person at a time, to where charitable giving is expected from all people, I think we’d be better off for it.

It gets a bit greyer for me, personally, because he gave it to his church (and 10% is an “obligation” in some religions, isn’t it?) but I hope the church, in turn, puts it to good use in the community.
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By: Roger

Roger — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:00:14 +0000

That’s an interesting one. I know when I was receiving unemployment, I still gave to my church; between the sense of religious obligation and hoping to curry whatever favor I can with the powers that be, it just seemed like the right thing to do. Beyond that, I am of the opinion that money you get from unemployment (or other government benefits, for that matter) is your money, and should be put to whichever purpose you deem worthwhile (provided it is legal).
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By: Revanche

Revanche — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 01:16:41 +0000

@MyLifeROI, That’s where I was going with that. And any other kind of resource could apply: family/friend loans, bank loans, other forms of government aid, charity. Creating a deficit in your own budget which then taxes the system as a whole some more then makes the choice to give away the money he’s receiving less acceptable in my eyes.
Revanche´s last blog ..Slacker McSlackerby

By: Kosmo @ The Casual Observer

Kosmo @ The Casual Observer — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 05:33:47 +0000

@MyLifeROI, Fascinating. I did confirm with my wife (a CPA who has done work for clients in surrounding states) that none of the bordering states collect unemployment premiums from employees. Maybe it’s a regional thing, based on historical unemployment rates? Iowa generally has one of the better unemployment rates in the nation. It was 6.7% in September, tied for the best in the nation. Pennsylvania was 26th at 8.8%, NJ was 36th at 9.8%.

http://www.bls.gov/web/laumstrk.htm

Or maybe salaries are higher in those states, leading to larger payouts? The midwest tends to have a fairly low cost of living.

Thanks for teaching me something new :)
Kosmo @ The Casual Observer´s last blog ..Review of The Lost Symbol

By: MyLifeROI

MyLifeROI — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 02:35:44 +0000

@Kosmo @ The Casual Observer,

Check this out for Pennsylvania, as an example:
http://www.payroll-taxes.com/PayrollTaxes/00000314.htm

Pennsylvania Unemployment Insurance
Employee rate – 0.06% for 2009 (.08% for 2010) is withheld from gross wages. This tax is to be remitted to the Department with the employer’s quarterly unemployment tax.

I can’t find a site that lists which states charge unemployment insurance directly to the employees. I know for a fact that I paid it, though. Same in New Jersey.

By: kosmo @ The Casual Observer

kosmo @ The Casual Observer — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 02:26:28 +0000

OK, here’s a thought – does the timing of the contributions line up with the time they were on unemployment?

Thing of this scenario:

I earn 10K between January and April and donate 2K to charity. Then I lose my job and make 10K in unemployment from May – December. I donate nothing to charity during this time. Overall, for the year, I donate 10% of my income.

The person who wrote the original piece probably accounted for this, though.
kosmo @ The Casual Observer´s last blog ..Glacier National Park

By: kosmo @ The Casual Observer

kosmo @ The Casual Observer — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 02:22:46 +0000

@MyLifeROI, OK, but where does it say that employers pass a portion of this on to employees? The excerpt you’re showing seems to indicate that employers are getting a rebate on what they are paying.

Maybe I’m overlooking something in the article, though – it was long as I didn’t read it all :) I’m not trying to be argumentative – I’m genuinely interested.

I know that I personally don’t pay a cent – I log every aspect of my paycheck in Quicken, and there’s definitely no money coming out for this. I’m fairly certain that it wasn’t taken out when I worked in Illinois either (same employer). I’m currently in Iowa.
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By: MyLifeROI

MyLifeROI — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:20:30 +0000

@Kosmo @ The Casual Observer,

Check http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unemployment_benefits#United_States

Excerpt: “Therefore, the net FUTA tax rate is generally 0.8 percent (6.2 percent – 5.4 percent), for a maximum FUTA tax of $56.00 per employee, per year (.008 X $7,000 = $56.00). State law determines individual state unemployment insurance tax rates.”

So, for example, when I worked in Pennsylvania it would show up on my check as PA SUI — Pennsylvania State Unemployment Insurance.

By: Kosmo @ The Casual Observer

Kosmo @ The Casual Observer — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:15:06 +0000

@MyLifeROI, Really? FUTA is a federal program ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Unemployment_Tax_Act ) so I’m curious what’s going on in those states. Maybe they provide additional benefits?
Kosmo @ The Casual Observer´s last blog ..The Attack