We learned from the 2020 Democrat primary presidential candidates who released their tax returns that they didn’t contribute a lot to charity.
Someone called out former Texas Rep. Robert O’Rourke’s meager donations. His response? His greatest charitable contribution is running for office.
O’Rourke and his wife released 10 years of tax returns with 2017 the most recent. They made a combined $370,412 and only gave $1,166 to charity. (One-third of 1%)
He is in last place among the 2020 candidates when it comes to charities.
But fret not, everyone! The mighty O’Rourke has a completely valid explanation.
O’Rourke had a town hall at the University of Virginia the other day. One student asked why his family gave so little to charity while his sister, who made a lot less than him and his wife, gave a lot more to charity.
O’Rourke answered:
I served in public office since 2005. I do my best to contribute to the success of my community, my state, and now my country. There are ways that I do this that are measurable … There are charities that we donate to that we’ve recorded and itemized — others that we’ve donated to that we have not.
O’Rourke also said that him attending the town hall while also being on the road nonstop for the campaign is considered a charitable action (emphasis mine):
But I’ll tell you that I’m doing everything I can right now, spending this time with you, not with our kiddos, not back home in El Paso, because I want to sacrifice everything to make sure that we meet this moment of truth with everything we’ve got. So if you have not read those tax returns, they’re online now for your scrutiny. Just know this: I will continue to try to be as transparent and as forthcoming as I possibly can be in answering your questions and posting that financial information online.
In other words, we should be grateful to have O’Rourke in public office since 2005 and in the 2020 presidential race. We are SO lucky!
The arrogance of this man boggles my mind. How many people heard of him before he launched his senate race against Sen. Ted Cruz? Despite the support from Hollywood and sports athletes, Cruz still won. (Gee, that sounds familiar, doesn’t it? You know, November 2016!)
As I said, O’Rourke gave the least to charity than the other 2020 candidates. However, the others shouldn’t boast.
Then again, is this shocking? The Democrats love government and think it should supply everything for everyone. The Washington Post provided the following data.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and his wife made $566,000 in 2017. They only gave $19,000 to charity. (3.4%)
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) and her husband earned $1.9 million in 2018, but only gave $27,000 to charity. (1.4%) She also did not report any charity contributions “during her first three years as California’s attorney general.” She married her husband Doug Emhoff in 2014. In their first year of marriage, “they filed jointly, Harris and Emhoff — a partner at the law firm DLA Piper — reported giving $60,000 to charity. Their giving dropped off to between $18,000 to $37,000 in the years that followed.”
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and her husband earned $338,500 in 2018. They gave $6,600 to charity. (under 2%)
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and her husband gave $3,750 to charity in 2018 even though they earned $215,000. (Under 2%)
Gov. Jay Inslee (D-WA) and his wife gave $8,295 to charity in 2018 after they earned $203,000. (4%)
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) came out on top since she and her husband gave $50,000 to charity in 2018 with an income of $906,000. (5.5%)
Look at those numbers. Remember Mitt Romney? His tax returns in 2012 showed that he and his wife Ann donated $4 million dollars to charity after they earned $13.7 million. That’s 29.4%.
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