Who’s the next best president for the American non profit sector?
Christopher Gunn, Professor of Economics of the Nonprofit Sector told us about what the two candidates could do to change the future on the non profit sector
di Staff
“Understanding which candidate will really make a difference for the third sector is not as easy as it seems”. According to Christopher Gunn, long time professor of economics at the Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Obama’s history of community engagement is not enough to make him the savior of the American nonprofit world. A careful observer of the third sector since the seventies, Gunn describes a delicate situation in which the candidates’ opposite opinions on tax reform and the use of public funding to support anti-poverty programs could create completely different scenarios.
Professor Gunn, which candidate could be considered more reliable for the American non-profit sector?
It’s complicated. Romney would like to cut government spending particularly in social programs which is an area where non profit is very active in, so you could say that Romney’s advocacy of cuts would shift responsibility to non profits and this could represent an opportunity for them, if they had the funding. On the other hand Obama is much more deeply connected to the things that non profits typically do and would be an advocate for funding for them in government programs. I don’t think there’s an easy answer to this question.
What has Obama done in favor of the non profit world?
He has done a couple of very good things. He was an advocate for the Edward M. Kennedy American Act, which created five new service corps to address the needs of low income communities. The bill expanded the number of volunteers nationwide from 75,000 to 250,000 and it has developed a Summer of Service, which allows for rising 6-12 graders who complete 100 hours of service in an approved position to receive a monetary award, as well as Semester of Service which gives high school students the opportunity to participate in service learning for at least 70 hours in a semester. Obama also created an office within the White House for social innovation and civic participation and its healthcare reform connects directly with non profits particularly in terms of non profit hospitals and foundations supporting them. His own work before coming to the White House involved neighborhood action in Chicago, based on non-profit organizations, so he has a long tack record and a good knowledge of what non profits can do.
Obama is much more connected to community movements and civil society organizations then…
Definitely. Romney’s more connected to religious organizations in the Mormon church. We can see it from his charitable donations, most of them flow through his religious affiliation. Religious organizations have strong community links but within church members, without the broader reach that Obama has.
The two candidates have very different views on taxes: Obama said that he is going to raise them while Romney declared the exact opposite. Which one of these two taxation policies will have the best impact on donations and, as a consequence, on the non profit sector?
A higher marginal tax rate of the kind Obama is proposing favors wealthy people giving donations because there’s a greater payoff for them in doing that. Romney’s attempt to lower top marginal tax rate, I would think would work against non for profit in providing less incentives to make those donations.
Obama promised to extend funding for anti-poverty programs, while Romney has different views on the right strategy to fight poverty. Do you think that the government plans made during the campaigns are really going to be applied, once the next presideny settles in?
I think if Obama ends up being able to either work with or work around congress in the second term, he could boost anti-poverty programs. People are well aware they’re needed and much of those funding will flow through not for profits. Romney would agree that those money should flow through not for profits but it’s unclear where it is going to come from: Romney doesn’t approve of any government funding commitment in supporting those programs.
What is the first thing that the next president should do in your opinion?
There are some complicated issues that are going to be in the agenda for a new president early on. One of them that is extremely contentious in the US in funding for organizations that might provide abortion for women because conservatives in this country hate to see any public money going to organizations like Planned Parenthood, which is one of the largest organizations and normally ranks between twelve and fifteen on the list of the top non profits. Planned Parenthood mostly does family planning and counseling but the abortion issue is the tough one, so conservatives have made it very difficult for this and other organizations like it to continue their work. I think that this will be an issue that would confront a president right away and Obama has been very good at taking a stand in favor of these organizations’ ability to continue their work .
