A Christma Story (We left the "S" off for "Savings"!)

Just when you think that Steven E. Landsburg's amusing Everyday Economics column in yesterday's Slate is nothing more than a trifling little Scrooge satire, he slyly switches gears and makes a compelling case that saving (or miserliness) is as philanthropic as donating to charity, and should be treated as such in the tax code:

In this whole world, there is nobody more generous than the miser -- the man who could deplete the world's resources but chooses not to. The only difference between miserliness and philanthropy is that the philanthropist serves a favored few while the miser spreads his largess far and wide. ...

Saving is philanthropy, and -- because this is both the Christmas season and the season of tax reform -- it's worth mentioning that the tax system should recognize as much. If there's a tax deduction for charitable giving, there should be a tax deduction for saving. What you earn and don't spend is your contribution to the world, and it's equally a contribution whether you give it away or squirrel it away.

As someone who stashes more scratch into his 401(k) (well, technically, his 403(b)) than gives it to noble causes, my response is: Amen, brother! Maybe George Costanza really was onto something with his Human Fund idea ... .

Comments

[gr]

i can think of one big reason why it's not a good idea: it discourages spending. the economy no likey that.

[Mark]

You might want to ask Tiny Tim his opinion on that whole miser thing.