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House Passes Trump-Backed Rescissions Package Slashing $9 BILLION in Bloated Spending — FOREIGN AID, NPR, and PBS on the Chopping Block — Two Republic

BCP1928

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No thanks. No payments to churches, please.
That is an issue, but as a practical matter I have worked with Catholic Relief Services overseas and found them to be essentially secular in their approach, and never conditioned on acceptance of their religious beliefs. I cannot say the same of other religious groups I have encountered in the field.
 
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RocksInMyHead

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However, I find it very concerning that these same entities depended so heavily on government funding. Is it just the case that without government funding, these things aren't possible (or highly unlikely)?
The reality is that very few individuals are willing to contribute money towards esoteric causes (like scientific research) where the return may be years or even decades down the line. That's where government can be useful, because they're willing to take the long view and take risks in the name of bettering the lives of their citizens. While there are occasionally hugely altruistic people (e.g. Andrew Carnegie and his Carnegie libraries, Bill Gates and his work with diseases and building infrastructure in Africa) who devote massive resources towards a cause or two, even they don't have the resources at their disposal to work on the scale that the US government is capable of. And even if they did, their existence at any given time is not guaranteed.
I can see that in some cases, but we have "private" institutions buckling under the pressure. I'm sure it's all very complicated, but I know that kind of dependency is clearly a mistake, especially if you want to be free to critique the system.
I don't know that it's fair to criticize the people who set these institutions up half a century ago or more for not anticipating the prospect of someone coming in looking to burn the system to the ground.
 
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public hermit

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The reality is that very few individuals are willing to contribute money towards esoteric causes (like scientific research) where the return may be years or even decades down the line. That's where government can be useful, because they're willing to take the long view and take risks in the name of bettering the lives of their citizens. While there are occasionally hugely altruistic people (e.g. Andrew Carnegie and his Carnegie libraries, Bill Gates and his work with diseases and building infrastructure in Africa) who devote massive resources towards a cause or two, even they don't have the resources at their disposal to work on the scale that the US government is capable of. And even if they did, their existence at any given time is not guaranteed

So it's highly improbable that these things that work toward to common good can be sustained w/o government funding. I think that's probably right, and I think a purpose of government is to support them.

I don't know that it's fair to criticize the people who set these institutions up half a century ago or more for not anticipating the prospect of someone coming in looking to burn the system to the ground.

No, maybe it's not fair to them, but going forward, this hard learned lesson has to inform how certain things are funded or how government funding is controlled. I want to say some serious restraints need to be placed on the executive branch. Congress has the purse strings but the way its dispersed seems to depend on the executive branch. Maybe that's the problem?

I still wonder about institutions like Harvard that have huge endowments. I take it, much of the funding they receive is tied to research and not necessarily every day operations.
 
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Hans Blaster

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That is an issue, but as a practical matter I have worked with Catholic Relief Services overseas and found them to be essentially secular in their approach, and never conditioned on acceptance of their religious beliefs. I cannot say the same of other religious groups I have encountered in the field.
One of these "practically secular" Catholic enterprises (I forget which one) took a case all the way to the Supreme Court (and won thanks to the theocratic Roberts court) on a claim that some regulatory law didn't apply to them because they were operated by a religion. They need to pick a lane, either they are essentially secular, but are governed by a religion, or the are essentially religious. If the the latter, then no government funds for you church org.
 
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BCP1928

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One of these "practically secular" Catholic enterprises (I forget which one) took a case all the way to the Supreme Court (and won thanks to the theocratic Roberts court) on a claim that some regulatory law didn't apply to them because they were operated by a religion. They need to pick a lane, either they are essentially secular, but are governed by a religion, or the are essentially religious. If the the latter, then no government funds for you church org.
I know, and I pretty much agree with you, but my experience is all foreign and on that basis I don't see a need for the abrupt axing of USAID over it. I think Musk realized it too. He's a slash and burn expert--that's how he runs his companies--and I think that when he realized he had been called in to carry out an ideological agenda rather than just to save money he bailed.
 
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RocksInMyHead

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I want to say some serious restraints need to be placed on the executive branch. Congress has the purse strings but the way its dispersed seems to depend on the executive branch. Maybe that's the problem?
The problem is that the current edition of government is fully captured (all three branches) by people in ideological agreement with each other. This means that the restraints placed on the various branches of government are largely irrelevant. I don't know how you deal with that without fundamentally changing the way our government works.
I still wonder about institutions like Harvard that have huge endowments. I take it, much of the funding they receive is tied to research and not necessarily every day operations.
Correct - when universities receive grants from the government, in most cases, those grants are actually given to researchers working at the institution. The university itself generally takes a cut of the grant money to support the ancillary operations around the researcher/research group, but the grant itself goes to the researcher to fund their work.
 
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Richard T

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How about ending tax breaks for millionaires and setting up matching funds from the federal government. For every dollar donated to Catholic Charities, for example, the government matches that 100% or even 50%. The government needs to have skin in the game because they have the deepest pockets.

the Heritage Foundation, architects of Project 2025?
I consider the plan to be Machiavellian, subverting our Constitution and form of government.
Climate change is responsible for most of the famines in equatorial Africa. Forest fires. Floods.
Starvation. Displacement.
I'll stick with clean energy instead of listening to a foundation in big oils pockets.
Your idea if truth is based on the source without greater investigation? The idea that corn ethanol gas and biofuels starve others is well documented. Here it is from the ny times

How Biofuels Could Starve the Poor​

By C. FORD RUNGE AND BENJAMIN SENAUER
Published: May 7, 2007
How about ending tax breaks for millionaires and setting up matching funds from the federal government. For every dollar donated to Catholic Charities, for example, the government matches that 100% or even 50%. The government needs to have skin in the game because they have the deepest pockets.

the Heritage Foundation, architects of Project 2025?
I consider the plan to be Machiavellian, subverting our Constitution and form of government.
Climate change is responsible for most of the famines in equatorial Africa. Forest fires. Floods.
Starvation. Displacement.
I'll stick with clean energy instead of listening to a foundation in big oils pocketsi
I
 
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public hermit

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I don't know how you deal with that without fundamentally changing the way our government works.

What we are seeing might be the reason to make a fundamental change so that there is some limit to any ideology controlling all three. The executive branch does not admit a diversity of ideological positions like the other two can. Whoever has the office of President controls the whole branch. Maybe that's where we need to mix it up. And, perhaps, the way we choose judges needs to change.
 
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RocksInMyHead

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What we are seeing might be the reason to make a fundamental change so that there is some limit to any ideology controlling all three. The executive branch does not admit a diversity of ideological positions like the other two can. Whoever has the office of President controls the whole branch. Maybe that's where we need to mix it up. And, perhaps, the way we choose judges needs to change.
Perhaps - but effecting that level of change requires the cooperation of the government. Which isn't happening.

Or revolution.
 
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public hermit

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Perhaps - but effecting that level of change requires the cooperation of the government. Which isn't happening.

Or revolution.

Yikes. Well, one possible upside: the folks who make up this administration are not terribly smart. Before we break out the guns, let's give it a bit.
 
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BCP1928

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Yikes. Well, one possible upside: the folks who make up this administration are not terribly smart. Before we break out the guns, let's give it a bit.
Revolt against what? The government is chaos, amateurs doing improv. Squabbling . infighting, erratic, rapidly changing and sometimes contradictory policies. They're putting on a show about how Trump wants to be an autocrat, but he doesn't even seem to be a competent autocrat. And what do we get? Nothing, No fancy uniforms, not even an armband, just a stupid red hat. Came across a brass band today on YouTube, sharp uniforms, good musicians, the band of the Guardia di Finanza , Italy's equivalent to ICE. ICE doesn't have a band, that would be too much fun.

But we don't need a revolution. In fifteen month's time with trival effort we could sweep the whole lot of them out with the trash.
 
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rjs330

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Never thought I would see the day where helping the disenfranchised would be considered as "waste". But then again, we were warned by Jesus Christ of Nazareth what would occur as the condition of the heart would begin to deteriorate then be revealed in such a way.

Mark 7:21-23
"For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, covetings, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: all these evil things come from within, and defile the man."

Yes, from the heart of man. All these things are happening on a minute by minute basis. That is why we need a savior.
 
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rjs330

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I remember when Christians wanted the poor and downtrodden to be helped; at least as a mindset.

It's like trump supporters are getting behind those city counsels that prosecuted Christians feeding the homeless.

Trump turned some Christians into callous people. And I'm pretty sure there were some biblical warnings about that.
Christians still do. Christians still give more than any other group. So I dont know what you are talking about.

Are you talking about governments sending aid or Christians?
 
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Fantine

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I thought we weren't a Christian nation.
An un-bloated budget, transferring benefits of the have nots to unnecessary, unneeded tax cuts for the people who have everything materially, and often very little spiritually.
Calling oneself a Christian nation while completely ignoring Jesus' preferential option for the poor is the cruelest form of hypocrisy.
 
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Fantine

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Your idea if truth is based on the source without greater investigation? The idea that corn ethanol gas and biofuels starve others is well documented. Here it is from the ny times

How Biofuels Could Starve the Poor​

By C. FORD RUNGE AND BENJAMIN SENAUER
Published: May 7, 2007

I
And that is one reason why environmentalist and progressives want solar and wind energy to replace the need for ethanol. But let's face it, with ethanol some corn is diverted away from the food supply but the air is cleaner and our planet is in less peril. With your solution, using fossil fuels, a higher percentage of corn may be diverted for food, but climate change will cause famines and hardships. Droughts and famine will mean that there is less corn for everything. Less corn for food. Less corn for ethanol. Not to mention the other dangers to our planet.
 
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rjs330

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As a fomer Christian and a former admirer of the USA, the Trump/MAGA actions sadden, depress and anger me. I await, with despair, the new version of the Bible, the one without the Sermon on the Mount.
Why would you await that. You said you are a former Christian. The Bible is just a book to you.
 
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rjs330

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I know you'd like to think that, but many of us do. Others are satisfied with having it taken out of our taxes, like an automatic periodic contribution to the United way. What's wrong with that?
I think USAID hosed itself with its leftist politics. If it would have stuck with just giving food to the hungry they wouldnt have been defunded.

Now comes the process where we change how we operate.

We will still help others. It just won't be through the same mechanism. We are going to go through some processes to work it out.

I think everyone knows that programs to help feed people are good. Its not over for ever and ever.
 
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