At the Secular Coalition we try to stay in our lane, and our lane is not trade and tariffs. However, when someone with a high school understanding of trade deficits blows up $8 trillion in market value, changes his mind because of “an instinct,” and settles on 145 percent tariffs on everything we buy from China, I feel an obligation to pass along any good news that I run across:
“Most Bibles sold in the U.S. are printed in China due to the country’s specialized approach to producing the holy book, according to Christianity Today. When Trump imposed a 10% tariff on China during his first term, there was enough of an outcry over what it would mean for Bible costs that the Trump administration exempted Bibles from the list of affected products. In February, a White House official told Ministry Watch that a Bible exemption is not expected under the new tariffs.”
By the way, my personal trade deficit with Walmart got worse this week. I again purchased the household products they have to offer, but they again refused to purchase the lobbying services I have to offer. The good news is that there is somewhere else that will buy my services, the Secular Coalition for America (thank you to our many supporters out there for making that possible), so my trade deficit with Walmart continues to not be a problem. That’s how a lot of trade deficits work and they don’t require higher tarrifs.
Something that is right in our lane this week is a bill that would kill the Johnson Amendment, the tax provision that says nonprofits, including churches, which enjoy the benefits of tax-exempt status cannot endorse political candidates. They can discuss issues, they can get out the vote, and even hold candidate forums as long as it’s done nonpartisanly. Nonprofits just can’t endorse or oppose candidates. It’s not a lot to ask.
Quoting from the Theocracy Tracker, provided by the Congressional Freethought Caucus to inform everyone about threats like this, “Allowing churches to freely endorse candidates without consequence not only undermines the integrity of our electoral process but also poses a significant risk to the principle of equality under the law. When certain organizations, particularly churches that are already given special exemptions from normal 501(c)(3) reporting requirements, are allowed to engage in illegal election intervention, it creates an uneven playing field, putting pressure on those organizations that comply with tax regulations and conscientiously avoid involvement in electoral politics.”
You can let your representatives know that you support the Johnson Amendment and oppose this bill with our Action Alert.
If you hear about a nonprofit or a church blatantly endorsing candidates you can inform the IRS with this surprisingly easy-to-fill-out form, the 13909.
