Sunday, April 3, 2011

Hey Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?


I know, the title has been used many times to describe thoughts on charity. If you google the line you'll find a handful or more blogs with the same title, though content is different.

For me, this is a political viewpoint. 

Being a taxpayer like we all are, (unless you're rich), we know that our taxes go to actions we approve of, (schools, libraries, roads, etc.), to actions we may not be thrilled about, (an example for me is capital punishment, not liking my dollars heading there). Many actions can be thought of as good or bad when it comes to the use of our taxes.

I think that being a liberal means that a certain amount of our taxes should go to helping those who have nothing. Feeding children that do not have food, doctors and dentists for those who need health care. I don't see it in the same way a conservative might; he sees it as an entitlement. I see it as a positive act.

A conservative would think that direct donations, or neighborly help and community help is all that is needed. That's why, for conservatives, those that you approve of is charity, those that they do not approve of, is entitlement. 

Odd thoughts for odd bastards.

The stats are easily found on the numbers of those who go hungry at times. The numbers are easily found on those who rely on cheap non-nutritional food to survive. A dollar double cheeseburger looks mighty fine when money is hard to come by.

I think that charity belongs as a government entity, an entity that has no eyes or thoughts about who might be worth helping, and who might not. An average estimate of annual cost to feed those in need ranges from half a billion to a little over a billion dollars a year. Last year we spent 171 billion on our wars. 

The price of war goes up yearly, but one billion to feed, or a hundred and seventy to kill; our priorities suck.

1 comment:

  1. Our priorities have sucked for a long time, and it does not seem like it's getting better. To me, part of the point of having a government is to ensure the less fortunate are not forgotten and are given chances to improve and get out of their tight spot. This is not charity, I call it civilization.



    The role of the government should not be to ensure the rich can get richer by exploiting everyone else.

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