Posted on 12/04/2013 7:01:02 AM PST by Kaslin
'Tis the season for giving.
But when you give, do you know your money will help someone?
Social workers say, "Don't give to beggars." Those who do give are "enablers," helping alcoholics and drug users to continue bad habits. It's better to give to charities that help the "homeless." I put "homeless" in quotes because my TV producers have quietly followed a dozen of the more convincing beggars after "work," and all had homes.
Once, I put on a fake beard and begged for an hour. At the rate money was coming in, I would have made ninety bucks in an eight-hour day -- $23,000 per year, tax-free! I see why people panhandle.
Their success, however, means that people who give them money, no matter how good their intentions, are not engaging in real charity. Giving may make you feel better, but it doesn't make the world a better place.
So where should we give? Charity-rating services try to separate good charities from scams, but they get conned, too. The definition of "charitable work" is rarely clear. How should the board of a nonprofit's first-class hotel expenses during a trip to Africa be classified?
That's why I give to charities I can watch. I donate to The Doe Fund, a nonprofit helping to rehabilitate ex-convicts. I saw their "Men in Blue" working near my apartment -- cheerfully and energetically. I thought, "Whoever's rehabbing these guys is doing something right!" So I give money to them -- and to a couple other groups I can see.
Finally, I give more to charity because I'm not much of an entrepreneur. I don't have business-building skills. But for those who do, here's a novel idea: Don't give to charity.
Years ago, Ted Turner was praised for donating a billion dollars to the United Nations. He said he wanted to "guilt" other billionaires into giving more and told me Warren Buffet was "cheap" for giving too little.
At first, the idea makes sense. Billionaires have more than they need; merely chasing more profit seems selfish.
But giving it a second thought, I found a fallacy in Turner's argument. The U.N. is a wasteful bureaucracy, leading me to assume it squandered Turner's gift. Buffet, meanwhile, continued to direct his investors' money to growing companies. Based on Buffet's stock-picking success, his investments were probably a more productive use of capital than Turner's. Money went to people making better products, inventing better things, creating more jobs and so on. Maybe Buffet's stock picks are now funding the next Bill Gates.
Today, the real Gates spends his time giving money away. He's unusually conscientious about it. He experiments, funding what works and dropping what doesn't. His charity work saves lives. Good for him. But Gates was also unusually skilled at bringing people better software. Had he continued doing that at Microsoft, I bet the company would have been even more productive. And Gates would have done more for the world.
I tried that thought experiment on Turner, who, in turn, unclipped his microphone and walked off the set.
OK, so people who give away a billion dollars don't want to hear skepticism about their gift. But there's little doubt capitalism helps people more. Even rock star Bono from U2 has come to understand that. He used to call for more government spending on foreign aid. Now he says: "Aid is just a stopgap. Commerce, entrepreneurial capitalism take more people out of poverty."
Bingo. If Bono gets it, Turner should, too.
I applaud those who give to charity, but let's not forget that it's capitalists (honest ones, not those who feed off government) who do the most for the poor. They do more good for the world than politicians -- and more even than do-gooders working for charities.
great article
Charity is about a lot more than material things.
In my opinion, showing respect is pretty charitable.
Charity starts at home. Do you know your neighbors and if they are okay? Sometimes you make very sad discoveries. Try to help them.
When I do contribute money, I contribute to something I know works and works well, like the Salvation Army.
I remember watching his show when he made the experience with putting on a fake beard and dressed up as a homeless person. The other day he was asked on FOX News what became of the money, and he said it went to a charity
Speaking of beggars, I have seen the same groups of beggars on highway median strips at traffic lights in my middle class area for the past few years.
These beggars have all started this “work” in the era of Obama. Not sure if there’s a connection there. But, these people are out there regularly, begging. I have wondered if they are truly homeless, or what their issues are.
I don’t give money to panhandlers/beggars/homeless on the street.
I give a lot of money to charities of my choice every year. My conscience is clear.
I agree with the article, but couldn’t Stossel have bothered to find out how Warren Buffett spells his name?
Very good point.
Scholium. The Fraudulent Poor. Persons who are not in genuine need and yet obtain alms by feigning great hardship commit sins in three ways: a) against truth, since their mode of behavior is a detestable deceit; b, against charity, because they deprive other poor persons of alms which they would otherwise have received; c, against commutative justice, since they deceive by guile those who are naturally displeased at being forcibly despoiled of these alms.
I quit doing drugs about a month ago and moved to Texas to restart my life. It took me a week to find a job, and still I see these parasites on the side of the road flying signs asking for money. Its pathetic.
That's not true. It started when you first became aware of it because it's been going on since I first became aware of it in 1976. I used to see it in abundance in San Diego, street corner franchises on begging, day in day out. Now out here in the South East, the cops just run them off after a day or so ..... and you don't see them again.
I saw an old lady holding a sign in 95 degree Texas heat and I was concerned for her. I stopped my car and asked her what her problem was. (Old grandma-ladies generally don't panhandle.) She said she was needing bus fare to get home. I said, "Why don't you go over to that church across the street and ask them for bus fare, I am sure they would help you." She didn't like that and began to cuss at me like a sailor. She wasn't needing bus fare. A real Grandma who is stranded somewhere would have gotten to a phone and called someone to pick her up. She would not have made a sign and stood on a street corner pretending to need bus fare. Real Grandmas do not like to perspire.
This is generally true about ALL liberals, not just billionaires giving their own money. They are buying a sense of righteousness, and whether they are spending their own or others' money, they don't want to hear that their purchase was fraudulent or negligent.
We're talking eternal destiny here, don't tell me that all my efforts are for naught!
Which, incidentally is exactly why the Cross and Christianity are so offensive to them.
Welcome to Texas—(but only if you stay clean), and I have a feeling that you will.
BTW, I’ve lived in the Austin area for nearly 14 years, and these beggars have been there all this time-—some of them for years. I’ve gotten to where I recognize them.
I never give them any money, because I think it’s like giving alcohol to an alcoholic——giving them money does nothing to inspire them to clean up their acts.
The reason liberal billionaires give to charities is so they can deduct it from their income tax, not for the sense of giving
I heard Turner didn’t ACTUALLY give the billion, but it was a “pledge” over a certain number of years or something.
"That's as good as money, sir. Those are I.O.U.'s."
Maybe he used one of those voice programs like Dragon and since Buffet is not a misspelled word, the spell check would not recognize it as such
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