Biden's Average Annual Charitable-Gift Total: $369

September 12, 2008

Biden's Average Annual Charitable-Gift Total: $369

Sen. Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, have given an average of $369 per year to charities during the past decade, according to tax returns posted today to Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign Web site.

Senator Biden, the Democratic nominee for vice president, claimed $995 in charitable gifts in 2007 on the joint return with his wife. That figure is 0.3 percent of the couple’s claimed income of nearly $320,000.

The 2007 contributions were significantly higher than the couple’s gifts in previous years, which ranged from $120 to $380.

By comparison, Sen. John McCain, the Republican Presidential nominee, in 2007 reported $405,409 in total income and contributed $105,467, or 26 percent of his total income, to charity.

Sen. McCain files a separate return from his wife, Cindy. The totals do not include Ms. McCain’s income or charitable contributions.

Sen. Obama, and his wife, Michelle, donated $240,000 in 2007, or about 5.7 percent of the couple’s $4.2-million in reported income.

Mr. Biden has been rated as the least wealthy U.S. Senator.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Mr. McCain’s running mate, has not yet made public her tax returns.

— Peter Panepento

Comments

Has charitable giving as a percentage of John and Cindy McCain’s income been determined?

— David Sep 12, 02:20 PM #
“…$105,467, or 26 percent of his total income, to charity.” 4th paragraph.

— Kim J Sep 12, 02:55 PM #
That is just Sen. McCain’s givng. “The totals do not include Ms. McCain’s income or charitable contributions.”

— Danielle Sep 12, 03:11 PM #
A little partisan, aren’t we, David? And how much do YOU contribute, as a percentage of YOUR income?

— Jeff Steele Sep 12, 04:18 PM #
I think it’s a fair question to ask. We should ensure we are comparing apples to apples. In all but Senator McCain’s case, we are looking at percent giving based on the combined incomes of both spouses. So these are not comparable percentages. That said, even if Senator Biden is the “poorest” in the senate, a .3% contribution, particularly for someone in public office, is embarassing.

— Inez Sep 12, 04:40 PM #
As a nonprofit fundraiser, I am simply floored. Really makes me think how much Biden is going to take out of my small wallet to redistribute vis-a-vis federal programs.

— Undecided Voter Sep 12, 05:30 PM #
This doesn’t surprise me since the last election when it was reported that John Kerry had donated very little in 2 separate years in a decade. Why do Democrats seem to be the ones that DON’T help charities but tell us that we must have mutual responsibilties? Because it’s, “Do as I say, not as I do” mentality.

— Darrell Gammon Sep 12, 06:11 PM #
They won’t give their own but they would be glad to give yours!!

— Jace Sep 12, 09:13 PM #
Independent studies continuously show Conservatives give far more to charity than Liberals. This is a fact — not opinion.

Why is there such a double standard here folks? It’s simply wrong no matter what your political beliefs or party affiliation.

— Kyle Sep 12, 11:40 PM #
to those who are complaining about Cindy McCain’s income not being included in the comparison… you would probably be surprised at her contributions to charity.

If you know anything about her charitable work you might not be so “eager” to complete the comparison.

Biden may be a miser, but the McCains…. like many many conservatives are very generous to charity. John McCain knows how inefficiently the Government spends. Meanwhile many many liberals tend to be considerably less generous.

The Obama’s charity may not be miserly, but it does show a good deal of hypocrisy. Biden on the other hand ought to be ashamed to show his face in public, let alone as a candidate for VP… But of course he has no shame

— oceanguy Sep 13, 05:39 PM #
Is there a source where I can go to get accurate and factual information on the charitable giving of our elected officials? Thank you.

— Ken Sep 13, 07:07 PM #
If all my expenses for my seven houses and children’s private school were taken care of out of my wife’s income, I’d easily donate 100% of my income to charity. The reason Ms. McCain’s income and giving can be considered is that together they are a household. Not to mention, the percentages hardly mean a thing when you have one couple whose income is not far above what Obama would consider “rich” and the other couple’s is goodness knows how many times above it.

— opinions Sep 15, 02:47 PM #
The tone of the comments is silly. Regardless of what McCain did, Biden’s philanthropy is pathetic, really pathetic. Just about as pathetic as Gore’s and Clinton’s prior to his becoming president.

— richard west Sep 15, 10:02 PM #
Arthur C. Brooks, in his book, “Who Really Cares,” examined the actual charitable behavior of liberals and conservatives when it came to donating their own time, money, or blood for the benefit of others. What are the facts? Conservatives donate more money and a higher percentage of their incomes. It is not that conservatives have more money. Liberal families average six percent higher incomes than conservative families. You may recall a flap during the 2000 election campaign when the fact came out that Al Gore donated a smaller percentage of his income to charity than the national average. It was perfectly consistent with his liberalism. So is the fact that most of those blue states that voted for John Kerry during the 2004 election donated a lower percentage of their incomes to charity than the red states that voted for George W. Bush. Conservatives not only donate more money to charity than liberals do, conservatives volunteer more time as well. More conservatives than liberals also donate blood. According to Professor Brooks: “If liberals and moderates gave blood at the same rate as conservatives, the blood supply of the United States would jump about 45 percent. Liberals LOVE to be generous with the help of other people’s money via often wasteful government programs that run off of coercively collected taxes.

— gschong Sep 19, 12:12 PM #
I am a part of an organization that helps raise money and supplies for St. Judes, every so often a memo will cross my desk about one of the McCains doing or giving something or another to St. Judes (Usually this is done in a very private manner). Obama’s name has never came to my attention in the seven years that I have been doing this. Obama talks about caring for our children the McCains do something about caring for our children.

— Toni Oct 4, 05:07 PM #

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