To shed some light on why charitable tax reform has gotten so little support from the nonprofit community, I’m publishing a purloined copy of a letter written by Ms. Gimme Sommore, Director of the Shortsighted Nonprofits Association, to one of the country’s six-hundred-plus billionaires, Richard N. Wight.
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Dear Rich,
I want to show my support for you and your foundation and respond to the very unfair negative press you and other members of the donor class have been getting. You’d think all billionaires got their money from daddy or made it selling opioids, evicting tenants, monopolizing resources, underpaying workers, avoiding environmental regulations or pushing other people’s dollars around the chessboard and taking a cut. My attitude is–like many of my peers–“if you keep doling out money, we won’t ask you how you made it.”
It’s admirable that you didn’t join the three private-spaceship-caballeros (imagine what that did to the average net worth of people who have gone into space) but chose to stay right here on earth. I was lucky enough to go to one of your many homes and saw the beautiful park adjacent to your ranch that has been preserved with your donations, a testament to how well you understand: Charity begins at home.
I know that our frontline nonprofits have had a tough time of it with the Covid pandemic and all, but they’ll get over it. So will the people they serve. I share the philanthropy press’ enthusiasm for the donor class’ generosity–a million dollars here, a million dollars there. Critics have no place suggesting that the billion dollars spent on super yachts just during the pandemic could have been better spent. And kudos to your foundation and virtually all others for having the discipline to stick to that 5% payout ceiling, knowing there will be plenty of rainy days in the future (well, maybe not on the west coast). This insures your children will have those Wight Foundation jobs for a very long time. Charity begins at home.
Frankly, what annoys me most is the press complaining that you don’t pay any taxes. Your foundation pays virtually no taxes on all the money it makes, so why should you? Especially when one of the best ways to avoid taxes is to sock money away in your foundation. I’d rather have you decide how our tax dollars are spent than a bunch of democratically-elected Congresspeople. If you know how to drill for oil and frack for natural gas you sure as heck know how best to provide affordable medical care and educate our children. You’re so smart you didn’t even have to go to college to get your Ph.d.
You are living proof that the richer you are, the smarter you are, which is why it makes perfect sense that the wealthiest get the largest charitable tax deductions. Do people expect you to put your name on a museum building without a tax subsidy? What you are doing is no different than what corporations do (and they are people after all): it’s essentially a tax-deductible public relations expense (Wight-washing). And we nonprofits are glad to help by showering you with prestigious awards at our big conferences.
I’m sure you’re hearing rumblings that people want to change the laws that affect charitable giving, like requiring your private foundation or even your donor advised fund to pay out a higher percentage of your endowments. That’s daffy. Just because the Wight Foundation has made extraordinary tax-free money for the last ten years, and you personally have doubled your net worth just since the pandemic began, you’re not required to have a knee-jerk response to the multiple crises caused or highlighted by the pandemic. Sometimes it’s just better to receive than give. Do nonprofits really need another $30 billion each year from increased payouts? Spoiling your children is one thing, but spoiling nonprofits with too much money could upset the historical reliance they have on folks like you.
Critics simply don’t understand that the government has given you tremendous tax breaks so that your children and grandchildren and their grandchildren can continue to dole out grants to their favorite causes. No doubt your heirs will carry on the tradition of deciding what’s best for America, especially if you continue to maintain an all-Wight board of directors. As Chris Rock famously said, “it’s alright because it’s all Wight.”
I can’t speak for all nonprofits, and certainly not for most taxpayers, but you can rest assured: Most of us are on YOUR side. We will say loud and clear (or at least not say anything at all) to Congress, to the press, to anyone who will listen: “Don’t change the status quo! We don’t want to have to go scrambling to collect small donations from a lot of average citizens. Wealth inequality works!
If the choice comes down to more government regulation or just allowing you to continue hoarding, we’ll keep in mind the nonprofit mantra, “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.” And you can be certain that when you are in the room with us, Rich, we will make sure you know that you are both the smartest and funniest person we ever met. Because you are. And because we’re in this together.
We love you Rich,
Gimme Sommore
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Stay well, and thanks for your interest in the CCC effort.