Thread by @fentasyl

It's ridiculously profitable to be classified as a "non-profit" by the IRS

1998: $1.0T revenue, $2.3T assets
2016: $2.6T revenue, $6.0T assets

In 1991, there were 516,000 501(c)3 organizations according to the IRS
By 2021, there were 1,431,000

Over 10% of the US workforce is in the NGO industry, doling out $670B in wages 6 years ago

In 2007:
- $421,337,000,000 in Wages, for
- 10,534,000 Employees, of
- 233,000 NGOs

By 2017:
- $670,218,000,000 in Wages, for
- 12,488,000 Employees, of
- 299,000 NGOs

We've maybe reached "peak per capita NGO" in the 2010s, but the 1990s-2000s were a feeding frenzy

Reagan-era Tax changes hugely incentivized NGOs

Used to great effect as tax shelters for the ultra-rich & as taxpayer subsidized political activist orgs disguised as "civil rights"

In 2012, NGOs made up a huge amount of the Northeast workforce (surely even more now):
- 27% of DC
- 18% of NY, MA, ME, VT, RI
- 16% of PA

And... whaddya know? The industry is recession-proof

Underappreciated is that NGOs aren't only for money laundering and political activism

You are also personally subsidizing all the activities of:
- Every College/University (yes, even "Private" ones)
- Every pediatric transgender clinic
- Every COVID mass death nursing home

Since 1990, the ultra-rich have funneled some $8+T to their NGOs, all of it deducted away from their fair share of taxes

That is, we pay the wealthy to do this

And once the cash is sheltered in the NGO, it can be spent largely tax free (compared to a "for profit" corporation)

Donald Trump's landmark tax bill was a massive boon for the ultra-wealthy looking for another taxpayer subsidy for their overwhelmingly far-left NGO beneficiaries

It made the regressive charitable deduction even more regressive, allowing deduction of 60% of income (from 50%)

Donald Trump's landmark COVID cash feeding frenzy bill gave another nice little bonus to all his favorite people and orgs

They could deduct up to 100% of income if you donated it to an NGO in 2020 and 2021 (back down to 60% in 2022)

You:
- subsidize the schools directly in tax law
- subsidize the wealthy's donations to the schools
- fund the grants that pay their salaries
- underwrite all the tuition via student loans
- pay off the whole loan if grads work for an NGO for 10 years

nonprofitquarterly.org/to-save-legal-…

Heck of a racket to produce highly indoctrinated indentured servants, all paid for by the average schmuck USA Taxpayer

What can be done? From easiest to hardest:
- End PSLF
- End the "charitable" tax deduction
- Force schools to underwrite their own students' loans
- Abolish the entire concept of "non-profit organization" and tax them the same as "for-profits"