Posted on 05/15/2017 4:59:55 AM PDT by Kaslin
Compassion for others is at the heart of many faiths. We’re blessed to be a blessing to others, but there’s no compassion in “giving” when the money comes from a government taxing others to provide the funds to do the “giving?” Charity is a personal value and should be made from our own resources.
Should not the successful and rich give more? In my opinion, they have the resources and the moral obligation to do so. When much is given, much is expected. But it should be a personal choice, not the result of raising further the government sanctioned taxes on high-income Americans.
America was built on individual opportunity and freedom coupled with a commitment to the commons. We all want our version of the “American Dream,” but we encourage others to do the same. Self-reliance is a traditional American value, but so is our shared compassion for our neighbor. Neighbor helping neighbor is a blessing for all, cementing a strong common bond in our local communities.
There will always be some who are poor. In a free society built on free enterprise and capitalism, companies succeed and companies fail. People become rich. When companies fail, jobs are lost and owners and workers alike can become temporarily poor. The “Bootstrap Studies” suggest that over decades, the poor of today can still bounce back to become the wealthy of the future. But so can a successful entrepreneur be the toast of the town one year and bankrupt in a decade. Why? America is built on equal opportunity, not equal results. Yet our tumultuous free-enterprise economy has served America well in becoming the most prosperous and powerful country in the world.
We’re also a giving country. According to Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, America is number one with over 10% of our GDP going to voluntary social spending. But, in terms of number of families giving money to charity, the U.S. population ranked 13th in the 2013 World Giving Index, with only 62 percent of Americans reporting having made a financial donation in the previous month. Thankfully, America snagged the top spot for helping a stranger in need of assistance (at 77 percent), and it ranked third for volunteering (at 45 percent).
But which Americans give more? When it comes to giving to charity, those in Republican states are more generous than those in Democratic states by a wide margin. In GOP states like Utah and Mississippi, families donate more than seven percent of their income to charity. In liberal New England states like Massachusetts, the number is less than half that. The nation’s 50 biggest metropolitan areas average less than 3 percent while smaller cities in the Western and Southern regions give more than 7 percent.
It’s clear that one’s political philosophy can make a difference in our inclination to give to those in need? Liberal Americans might assert that its government’s job to care for the poor. Personal philanthropy takes a back seat to electing leaders willing to raise taxes on the rich and increase entitlements to do their “caring.
To conservatives, trapping people into dependency on government entitlements is not caring. Conservatives want lower taxes, smaller government, fewer entitlements, and the opportunity of citizens to keep more of their own money so they can support charities that provide a helping hand instead of a debilitating dependence.
Charity is appreciated. Government entitlements come to be expected. It’s not greed to work hard to earn, to save, and to benefit from one’s labor. It’s greed to expect government to take from successful citizens to meet your needs that you could earn yourself.
Ben Carson, the new Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, understands the problem and warns against government support making people “too comfortable:” "We have some people who are mentally ill. We have some elderly and disabled people. We can't expect in many cases those people to do a great deal to take care of themselves. There is another group of people who are able-bodied individuals, and I think we do those people a great disservice when we simply maintain them."
Let’s support our local charities for temporary support and save government relief for the truly disabled poor. If you can’t make a living wage in your current job, develop your skills, go to college to get a desired degree with job opportunities, start your own small business, but don’t expect others to give you more pay than a job is worth or to support endless unemployment payments. It’s time we expect more from our citizens and to challenge and incentivize them to take responsibility for their own lives.
What is the antonym of epidemic? We are seeing shame and dignity disappear with alarming speed as once-rational people show up at Congressional Town Halls and throw toddler tantrums as they demand Uncle Sam pay for every Band-Aid and Tylenol they consume.
Compassion is destroyed by government programs that are intended to meet the needs of the needy. In fact bureaucracies create and sustain a service population in abject conditions in order to maintain and grow their budgets. Government compassion is slavery.
I’m gonna tell you a story, hypothetical of course.
There’s this man, and he has an accident and becomes somewhat disabled, he goes to the state to see if they offer aid to his sort, what the hell he paid and is still paying a bunch of taxes so why not get some back.
He never finds out about specific aid but learns he qualifies for food stamps based on income. He’s on social security and has some other income which he downplays. He never uses the card once himself, he has someone else do the shopping. There’s no name on the card or anything, so who cares.
One year later he has to re-up and he decides to just list the Social Security income. Then they re-up him for another year with like 30 bucks more a month.
Then he goes on vacation and leaves the card with his son, who swallows his pride, goes to store he usually doesn’t and buys a bunch of pop (soda) and junk food he normally wouldn’t get, some of which he doesn’t eat cause he decides he doesn’t like it so that ice cream is just sitting in the freezer now.
And that’s one of the problems with food stamps.
Another one is cows with too many kids use it to buy food and then spend their other income, which they probably lie about, to buy booze, cigarettes, and smart phones. They have the latest phone, smoke a pack a day, but they need charity right? Right?
Not only that - lifeforms sell their EBT cards too. Or trade them for drugs, tattoos, etc.
Regarding the man in your story: My view at this point is to grab EVERYTHING he can. He’s paid for it. Better an actual taxpayer “gets it” then some illegal or some headchopper, err, Muslim.
As was told to me by a public school teacher: You can tell who the welfare kids are; they always have new stuff.
Rational amount and form of compassion for the right people and the right reasons are virtues. Lack of compassion and excess compassion for the wrong people and reasons and the wrong form of compassion are vices.There is a golden mean.
Compassion includes helping the recipient of charity with the means to get out of their reliance on the charity. In other words: It is a hand up, not a hand out. Charity, properly done, always needs to have some string attached. It may just be listening to your advice. Government programs do on not expect anything in return for the handout (except maybe a Democrat vote). Government handouts result is ultimate dependence which is a form of slavery.
GOP reps really need to start confronting behavior like that in town halls, and not just stand silently and politely listening to it until those temper-tantrum gimme-dat rants are over.
I’d really like to see someone to tell them flat out to grow up and stop acting like the government is supposed to be their mother. The government already does a lot, but here they come to town halls throwing a fit like a spoiled child who wants candy for breakfast, but is told to eat his oatmeal. They need to be called out for that at town halls and our side needs to start pointing the finger of shame back in the other direction.
By calling government “charity” entitlements, the government has effectively removed the shame component. After all, they are “entitled” to it...
We talked about “bottoming out” on another thread...
You want to know when we bottom out”
Shut the EBTs and “free” (meaning financed by me and you) stuff off to the parasites, and watch happens.
“Bottom out” will be a charitable phrase...
Somehow those cuts were NOT included in the Ryan/Trump budget .....
however I keep reading that many of our ‘undocumented’ neighbors are scared to get their food stamps.
Fortunately their kids get free breakfasts and lunches at school, sounds like their dinners will be light.
“Shut the EBTs and “free” (meaning financed by me and you) stuff off to the parasites, and watch happens.”
The googles*, beaners and wtrash will go crazy.
*Check your PM.
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