Churches, Politics, and the Charitable Contribution Deduction

Churches often bear the burden of the Internal Revenue Code\u27s electioneering prohibition without their contributors enjoying the benefit of a tax deduction. Although contributions to religious congregations may be deducted, many, perhaps most of them, are not because many of those who give to churches do not itemize their income tax deductions. In the past two years, Congress has had before it several bills that would permit nonitenizing taxpayers to deduct their charitable contributions. This Article argues that, extending the deduction to nonitemizers raises important issues of tax policy that should concern religious organizations. The author contends that religious congregations will benefit from considering some of the difficult questions about the relationship of the charitable contribution deduction to the standard principles of tax policy. If they do, they might support either a deduction only above a floor or a charitable contribution credit rather than a 100% deduction for nonitemizers

Can the Arts Change the World? The Transformative Power of the Arts in Fostering and Sustaining Social Change

A group of nonprofit leaders working in the arts, advocacy, political organizing, social services, and education explored the connection between community organizing and creative expression by engaging in collective activities, including visiting various examples of community arts, and experimentation with their own practice. Through this process, the group concluded that arts could be socially transformative; that community arts can create a safe space that allows people to trust and be open to changing; that art can help people reflect together and not talk past one another; and that the process of creating together can be healing and sustaining

The Effects of Moral Violations on Parasocial Relationships with Influencers

Morality impacts relationships in complex and highly contextual ways. Moral violations specifically can lead to a variety of reactions in social and parasocial relationships. This study extends past research on morality and parasocial relationships to examine the impacts of moral violations on parasocial relationships with influencers. Drawing on affective disposition theory, and expectancy violations theory, this study employs a 3-condition between subjects experiment to determine this relationship. The results indicate that a moral violation can result in a decrease in enjoyment of the influencer’s content and a parasocial breakup. The results also suggest that a moral difference between fan and influencer caused by the moral violation mediates the relationship between exposure to a moral violation committed by an influencer and a decrease in the strength of the parasocial relationship. Implications for the study of morality and parasocial relationships are discussed

The Power of Language in and Following Moments of Trauma: An Analysis of A Stolen Life

This paper examines the memoir of Jaycee Dugard, a woman who was kidnapped as a child and kept as a sexual slave for much of her life. Her work demonstrates how language is blocked in times of trauma but also how writing is an essential tool for victims to use to sort through their experiences. This paper also looks at the ways in which her captor kept her under his control through physical and verbal threat to show how language can help keep someone imprisoned. By looking more closely at stories like Jaycee’s, people can better understand the experience of the victim and the tactics of the abuser, and people can more effectively help victims of sexual slavery and abuse

King v. Burwell and Tax Court Review of Regulations

In King v. Burwell, the Supreme Court did not rely on Chevron to hold valid tax regulations allowing tax credits for taxpayers who enroll in an insurance plan through a federal rather than a state exchange. It instead concluded, relying in good measure on Brown and Williamson, that Congress had not delegated the question at issue to the IRS. It thus introduced a so-called Chevron Step 0. This essay reviews the Tax Court’s use of Chevron and Brown & Williamson to conclude that the Tax Court may well make use of King v. Burwell to review and reject tax regulations under this Chevron Step 0