Oh my, though I know I should not, I am starting to get a bit envious of Mitt Romney. But I don’t know if it is because I wish I had made enough money to be as charitable as he, or if I would like the same tax rate as he, or if I, too, were well enough healed to afford buying the presidency for $250,000 in supposed “undeducted” charity. Shame on me!

But there is one thing I am justifiably upset about: There is no line on the tax form I am forced to use that lets me show a portion of income earned that I want to claim I gave charitably that I am neither listing nor deducting from my bottom line.

I think that I, too, ought to be able to crow about how generous I am and with some official-looking something-or-other that I can say would show it if it were there. I can tell you right now that I would let everyone know that I had given everything I made away and somehow just survived on my goodness. Shame on me for sure!

Sam Osborne

West Branch