There is a strong sentiment in the US against paying more taxes in general to level the playing field a bit and help people in need, it's usually labeled as socialism. And now it's not even ok to use the incentives put in place for people who want to give extra money? Registering as a charity is the only way to make donations tax deductible, taking that away would basically reduce the donation and their effectiveness by the average tax rate of people with money to give, and they are usually not in the 12% bracket.