Today Jeremy speaks with Philip Hamburger about the surprising origins of the IRS’s restrictions on a charity’s political speech, and why those restrictions ought to be regarded as unconstitutional.
Today Jeremy speaks with Philip Hamburger about the surprising origins of the IRS's restrictions on a charity's political speech, and why those restrictions ought to be regarded as unconstitutional.
Philip Hamburger is the Maurice and Hilda Friedman Professor of Law at Columbia Law School, and President of the New Civil Liberties Alliance. He writes on constitutional law and its history—with particular emphasis on religious liberty, freedom of speech and the press, judicial office, administrative power, and unconstitutional conditions. He also studies Anglican, Baptist, and Quaker history, early secularism, and the Ku Klux Klan. He has twice received the Sutherland Prize for the most significant contribution to English legal history, and has been awarded the Henry Paolucci-Walter Bagehot Book Award, the Hayek Book Prize, and the Bradley Prize.
Jeremy dives in by asking Philip about his book, Liberal Suppression: Section 501(c)(3) and the Taxation of Speech. His argument that the IRS essentially taxes speech is both compelling and provocative. Philip connects the origins of the 501(c)(3) free speech restrictions to former Ku Klux Klan imperial wizard Hiram Evans and his hatred of the Catholic Church. Philip argues that the net effect is that all theologically orthodox speech is treated as a threat to democracy. He continues that the mere history behind this tax law should cause Americans to pause and ask whether it is constitutional or not. All of this and more during this week’s episode with Philip Hamburger.
On this week's Practicalities segment, American Philanthropic partner Matt Gerken discusses the influence and importance of donor surveys for nonprofits. Donor surveys provide the unique opportunity to cultivate and identify major gift opportunities in your donor file. This allows your organization to understand donor priorities and learn what they believe and care about. Learn more about American Philanthropic's donor surveys here.
Do you want to participate in the 2021 Performance Fundraising Survey that Jeremy mentioned at the end of the podcast? You can join the survey by clicking here. When you participate in this survey, you will receive a free digital copy of the final report and be entered into a drawing with prizes ranging $100-$3,000 in value. The survey closes October 31—participate before it is too late!
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