The earlier post on charity generated some comments asking what, exactly, counts as charity. But the better way to think about the question isn't the word "charity" but "non-profits." The itemized deduction applies to dollars spent on institutions organized as non-profits. Therefore, as commenter Griffin noted, Peter G. Peterson's foundation to cut Social Security benefits qualifies for charitable deductions cuts. So too do Amnesty International's efforts to free political prisoners and Marty Peretz's decision to endow the "Marty Peretz chair of Yiddish literature at Harvard" and the donations made to help the SF Museum of Modern Art attract a new exhibit and the gifts to The American Prospect that pay my salary and the efforts by PETA to dramatize the plight of livestock. The word "charity" does not just mean cash transfers to poor people. The Association of Fundraising Professionals publishes this breakdown of giving by subsector, which I've turned into a -- what else? -- chart:
What you immediately notice is that the vast plurality of donations go to religious organizations. That funds some outreach and social service programs, of course, but it also pays the salaries for ministers and helps support the well-dressed bicyclists who knock on your door on Sunday mornings. Then comes education -- which funds everything from stadiums to schoolbooks --and then, rather behind those two, everything else. The question then becomes about tradeoffs: Would you rather the government spend a dollar subsidizing non-profit efforts on this mix of priorities or on universal health care?
What you immediately notice is that the vast plurality of donations go to religious organizations. That funds some outreach and social service programs, of course, but it also pays the salaries for ministers and helps support the well-dressed bicyclists who knock on your door on Sunday mornings. Then comes education -- which funds everything from stadiums to schoolbooks --and then, rather behind those two, everything else. The question then becomes about tradeoffs: Would you rather the government spend a dollar subsidizing non-profit efforts on this mix of priorities or on universal health care? 
