[s1artibartfast]

The moral and economic arguments are pretty simple.

From the economic perspective, If someone gives $100 to charity, and a gets a $20 tax deduction, this is a net positive. Ostensibly, the point of government is to help people, and the point of charities are to help people. In reality, Half of that $20 tax would have gone to building bombs, so it is more like $10 vs $100.

From the moral perspective, charitable donations are set apart from other transactions because there is no quid-pro-quo, so more good is done. When you buy a movie ticket, a significant portion of that goes creating the product you receive (paying the movie studio, building the theatre, paying investors). With a charitable donation, the idea is that that more good is done because you are forgoing receiving any goods or services.

[therealdrag0]

FYI: 50% of tax doesn’t go to bombs, or defense. Like 20% does and most of that isn’t bombs :)

[s1artibartfast]

I was being hyperbolic so this is a valid correction. Understanding military spending is tricky through because it often doesnt come out of the military budget, as retirement and medical support are counted elsewhere.