Rabbi Shmuley Boteach spoke with BiblEconomy about the roots of the financial crisis and how we transcend it.
“The collapse of our economy was caused not by an economic crisis but a spiritual crisis called greed, where you become voracious and insatiable. I believe that the Jewish community, and the Jewish religion has unique values that need [...]

Tallahassee legislators are considering repealing the sales tax exemption on religious items as they grapple with an expected $5-6 billion state budget deficit for the 2009-2010 budget year. The House Finance and Tax Council heard testimony this week. Urging the tax exemption stand for the sale of religious items, including Bibles, Florida Baptist Convention legislative consultant Bill Bunkley says [...]

Reuters reports lawmakers killed bill 1098 that would have taken financial oversight of Connecticut’s Catholic churches away from priests and bishops, handing that power to lay officials. Thousands of Catholics demonstrated on Wednesday against the proposal, opposing what they called a threat to the separation of church and state.
“Religious freedom holds a privileged place in American society,” said the [...]

The Guardian (U.K.) reports in Greed is Good: A Guide to Radical Individualism:
In 1991, a survey carried out by the American Library of Congress and the Book of the Month club declared Ayn Rand’s novel, Atlas Shrugged, “the most influential book on American lives after the Bible”. It has sold more than 6m copies in [...]

The Salt Lake Tribune reports on the religious debate: should responsible taxpayers who took out affordable mortgages bail out those who didn’t?
Is it ethical for others to foot the bill for your bad financial decisions? And is it ethical to say no to those pleas for help?
The article quotes Mu Soeng, a Buddhist studies [...]

As if the sheer loss of their donor’s wealth weren’t enough concern for non-profit groups, here’s a good explanation of why 501(c)(3)’s, including religious charities, are worried about new limitations on charitable donation tax deductions.
Sheldon Steinbach, a DC-lawyer who represents colleges and universities says the proposal could have drastic consequences for many groups:
“Any disincentive to [...]

The Washington Post/On Faith section tells us about one taxpayer-funded program raising questions about church-state separation. Though the paper reports that in this case:
As unconstitutional, tax-funded, faith-based initiatives go, this one is relatively neutral and inexpensive.
This decades-old tradition allows the 228 Pennsylvania state legislators to choose from a wide-variety of holy books ranging in price from $30-$90. [...]

Here’s the latest twist on administration officials/nominees with tax problems.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who was forced to fork up $34,000 in unpaid back taxes, told the House Ways and Means Committee Tuesday that the Obama administration will be going after people who avoid and evade taxes. In prepared remarks before Congress, he said the president [...]

In his Washington Post/On Faith column, “Our Brothers’ Keepers, Not their Guarantors,” Rabbi Brad Hirschfield cites the Cain and Abel story to support bailing out even those who behaved irresponsibly, offering a different take than this famous TV clip arguing the government’s subsidy of “losers’ mortgages” promotes bad behavior.
When God asks him where his brother is, Cain [...]

Now a fourth Obama administration nominee with tax troubles.
This time, it’s Ron Kirk, the president’s choice to be U.S. trade representative. Kirk owes an estimated $10,000 in back taxes from earlier in the decade and has agreed to pay them, the Senate Finance Committee said Monday.
Remember this good lesson for public officials from Abraham in Genesis: even [...]