Posted on 12/30/2004 1:17:50 PM PST by bruinbirdman
Our money is not the government's to give.
As the death toll mounts in the areas hit by Sunday's tsunami in southern Asia, private organizations and individuals are scrambling to send out money and goods to help the victims. Such help may be entirely proper, especially considering that most of those affected by this tragedy are suffering through no fault of their own.
The United States government, however, should not give any money to help the tsunami victims. Why? Because the money is not the government's to give.
Every cent the government spends comes from taxation. Every dollar the government hands out as foreign aid has to be extorted from an American taxpayer first. Year after year, for decades, the government has forced American taxpayers to provide foreign aid to every type of natural or man-made disaster on the face of the earth: from the Marshall Plan to reconstruct a war-ravaged Europe to the $15 billion recently promised to fight AIDS in Africa to the countless amounts spent to help the victims of earthquakes, fires and floods--from South America to Asia. Even the enemies of the United States were given money extorted from American taxpayers: from the billions given away by Clinton to help the starving North Koreans to the billions given away by Bush to help the blood-thirsty Palestinians under Arafat's murderous regime.
The question no one asks about our politicians' "generosity" towards the world's needy is: By what right? By what right do they take our hard-earned money and give it away?
The reason politicians can get away with doling out money that they have no right to and that does not belong to them is that they have the morality of altruism on their side. According to altruism--the morality that most Americans accept and that politicians exploit for all it's worth--those who have more have the moral obligation to help those who have less. This is why Americans--the wealthiest people on earth--are expected to sacrifice (voluntarily or by force) the wealth they have earned to provide for the needs of those who did not earn it. It is Americans' acceptance of altruism that renders them morally impotent to protest against the confiscation and distribution of their wealth. It is past time to question--and to reject--such a vicious morality that demands that we sacrifice our values instead of holding on to them.
Next time a politician gives away money taken from you to show what a good, compassionate altruist he is, ask yourself: By what right?
David Holcberg is a research associate at the Ayn Rand Institute in Irvine, Calif.
I do not think that the writers of the Constitution were dumb - far from it. Good for you donating to causes and charities you fell are worthwhile. I hope everyone does the same. But, to suggest that the Constitution does not permit this sort of aid is absurd.
Get rid of this sick post.
Agree.
"I promise that if a poll were taken, the vast majority of taxpayers would agree to have some of their tax dollars go to help the tsunami victims."
The problem ethically with that is that it is not, nor would it ever be 100%... Since the vast majority of Americans want their money to go to help the tsunami victims (I'm sure that's true) why do we need the government to use FORCE to collect the cash?
Let individuals decide what they should do with the resources God gave them, we will indeed come through (as we're coming through now...)--besides there's no personal virtue in our tax money (read forced expropriations)being used for charitable purposes.
This is the epidome of the liberal LACK of care..."let the government do it!" which I think you find the areas of the country with the most liberal populations are the LEAST giving to charities... Folks with attitude's like Al Gore, who in 1999 with a $400,000+ income gave away $200.
"There is no virtue in compulsory government charity, and there is no virtue in advocating it. A politician who portrays himself as "caring" and "sensitive" because he wants to expand the government's charitable programs is merely saying that he's willing to try to do good with other people's money. Well, who isn't? And a voter who takes pride in supporting such programs is telling us that he'll do good with his own money -- if a gun is held to his head."
-- P.J. O'Rourke
"I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents."
- James Madison criticizing an attempt to grant public monies for charitable means, 1794
--J.C.
True, but as an individual endeavor.
The government shouldn't stick it's hand in MY pocket to make the decision FOR me.
If you can show me where it does, I'll concede I was wrong.
Information about tsunamis in the Indian Ocean can be found here. They are rare, compared to the Pacific Ocean, but not unheard of. Thailand and Indonesia were lax in their, IMO, since they border both the Indian and Pacific Ocean.
http://iri.columbia.edu/~lareef/tsunami/
"So let's see, the government of the most prosperous nation on the planet ........"
In case you havn't noticed, we (the gooberment) are currently in debt past our collective eyeballs.
Randroidism sort of fizzled out 10 years ago. Now it's a just a phase that immature and selfish adolescents hopefully transcendSo, I'm still an adolescent at 52? You flatter me sir! LOL!
Did you purchase this forum?
TWENTY years ago they were saying "Randroidism" fizzled out 10 years ago!
Agreed. How could someone write this when 120,000+ have died and millions are suffereing.
The sentiment is right on the mark. It is the difference between charity, and "coercive" philanthropy. Don't understand the difference? Read "A Christmas Carol".
Agreed.
I agree totally. While this earthquake and the following is a horrible tragedy, and I realize that help is definitely needed, I still bristle at the fact that my tax money is going for yet more aid that will be taken and then the US will be trashed. It is already happening and what does the government do - up the ante. Damn!
I have already donated money to the victims via the Catholic Relief Fund
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.