... because individuals are largely self-serving, the proper vehicle for achieving that goal is government.
This statement is specifically why I will choose to vote republican. Individuals
are largely self-serving , and they will most certainly take advantage of any government handout possible whether they need it or not justifying their actions because they believe everyone has more than they do. Couple that thought with the fact that big government seems to have zero accountability. People in government don’t seem to feel accountable for their own actions, and they fail to make people within these handout programs accountable either. (In the last debate even President Obama side stepped the question about who chose to deny funding for more security in Libya. While Hillary Clinton personally accepted responsibility, she didn’t admit to making the decision either.)
As to helping the poor, what I have found to be true in my personal experience is that the people who most need the help are always the last ones to ask for it. And the first people in line with their hands out aren’t the ones who truly need help. I believe charitable organizations are more likely to get the needed goods into the hands of those that need them most. Since they have limited funds, they make sure that their resources are all being used wisely.
I know you believe that people don’t give enough to charitable organizations to truly cover the costs of helping those in needs, and I would agree with you. However, most people feel their tax dollars are already helping the needy, so they are less willing to help. If they know someone is truly in need or deserving of help they will step up to the plate. Think of the bus monitor who was bullied by those students; people send hundreds of thousands of dollars to her. People have just personally witnessed so much abuse of social programs that they are gun shy. When they see real need, however, they will be there. Consider the response to natural disasters.
If we were to place all the monies now being spent on social programs, as well as all the administrative expenses and waste back in the taxpayers hands, what might happen? While not all of those monies would find their way into charitable organizations, enough money would be channeled into them to provide a network of services that would adequately serves the needs of the poor. Not only that, but many of those poor would have their first chance to see the gospel in action, maybe even hear it.
While surfing the channels, I caught some of John Stossel on Fox News last week, at least I think it was last week. I think it was titled something like “America Funds Dependency.” I have always been a fan of John Stossel and miss him not being on network TV. Anyway, I tuned in and so wish everyone could have seen this show. The gist being that government programs are sometimes extremely ineffective. He also talked about various charitable programs that were in place prior to the government’s involvement in social welfare and how effective they were. If you had watched this piece you would realize that people themselves can do a better job than the government.
My biggest concern is that people are being conditioned to depend on the government for everything instead of their creator. Humility is an essential requirement for obtaining everlasting life, for we cannot obtain everlasting life unless we can acknowledge our need for a Savior. If we as a nation guarantee a good quality of life for everyone, how will they ever depend on Him?
Given that Romney far outspent Obama in charitable giving both in percentage and dollar amount, it seems that he also believes that people can do better than government. Delegating our responsibility to serve our brother to the government seems a whole lot easier than doing it ourselves, but that doesn’t make it the best way.
Any questions?
