Christian Science Monitor
by Marvin Olansky

08/08/05

Rich hunters offset the costs of their African safaris by donating mounted heads of exotic animals to a Nebraska museum and claiming huge tax deductions. A Tennessee foundation created to improve education among the poor pays its director several million dollars. A tax-exempt hospital charity in Minnesota sends employees on trips to Hawaii and Grand Cayman Island, and executives on a three-day wine tour of Napa Valley to help them find their 'moral center.' Those are some of the stories that emerged from a Senate Finance Committee hearing this spring on charitable-giving abuses. Committee chairman Charles Grassley concluded, 'It's time for comprehensive reforms to shut down personal enrichment at the needy's expense.' He's right, but the arrogance of government and foundation officials at the expense of the needy is an even greater problem...

http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0809/p09s02-coop.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp