Comments on: The Deserving & Undeserving Poor

By: Julia

Julia — Tue, 27 Dec 2005 14:38:42 +0000

People give to charity around Christmas time because all that talk of Jesus makes them worry they will go to hell for the crap they do the rest of the year.

By: DuWayne

DuWayne — Tue, 27 Dec 2005 06:49:30 +0000

And by the way, if something isn’t done there will be fewer poor come spring. I had hoped Chavez giving oil to the poor in a couple of cities here in the "wealthiest nation in the world" would embarase the sadistic morons running the country into making sure folks could at least stay above freezing this winter – silly me. . .Thankfully my poverty ridden ass lives in the Portland OR area where it’s warm enough, enough of the time that we don’t have to run the heat very often. I thought I was going to starve (not guite literaly) when my son got sick and I had to turn the heat up a little. I am able to maintain 55* otherwise and still eat once a day. Even managed to get the boy a few cool toys for Christmas and his January birthday thanks to some friends I did a little "extra" work for. That and a lovely blogger friend who snuck a check in the box of cookies she sent us.

By: DuWayne

DuWayne — Tue, 27 Dec 2005 06:36:34 +0000

I recently read the novel "We The Living" which has the distinction of being both the first novel Robert Hienlien wrote and nearly his last work published. Now if your unfamiliar with Hienlien, he’s a libertarian-socialist. (not an oxymoron – I took a test that decided I was a libertarian-communist, they realy meant socialist – just didn’t know the difference) In it he describes a world of the future where instead of allowing the banks to createw money when they loan it out – the government would take control of that aspect of the economy instead of controling through interest rates.

Everybody then recieved a monthly stipend from the government – not welfare, but their heritage as an American citizen. It was enough to cover housing, food and basic entertainment/education. As a right everyone started on an equal slate – beyond that it becomes up to the individual. One could in fact "work" or make whatever contribution to society they wished and they would be compensated by those who saw the value in said contributions.

What made the novel even more extraordinary is that in it Hienlien also describes a rather complex "game" one can play out with any theory of economics using poker chips or other tokens to represent factors in econ. It will literaly work for any economic system and when you play it out you can gauge in large degree the success of any economic system. Interestingly. Hienlien didn’t consider the theory he describes in "We The Living" as a socialist structure – nor is it purely, I think he was mostly afraid to admit it was in fact a socialist hybrid. The biggest problem this country has is it’s absolute fear of the word socialism. Pure capitalism would destroy this country – but that is what conservatives seem to think is the way to go. Liberals too often decide the government should babysit the populace although in this neo-con nightmare we’re in now that’s all been twisted around.

I highly recommend that novel or at least learning the "game" described therein, you might be surprised to discover that the notion of every American getting a "heritage" stipend is not nearly the radical idea it sounds like. . .

By: Terrance

Terrance — Tue, 27 Dec 2005 03:13:34 +0000

Besides, I hardly trust the current administration to allocate my funds for charity better than I can!

I’ll grant you that much. I wouldn’t trust the current administration with so much as bus fare.

By: Katharine

Katharine — Tue, 27 Dec 2005 02:43:16 +0000

So puzzle me this: why is it we have warm, fuzzy feelings for giving donations to charity but not when our tax dollars are used to help the less fortunate

Well, I think some of it is about control. With charity, the giver has a little more say-so about where that contribution goes. For example, I donated to an Atlanta homeless shelter this holiday season. I know that money is going to benefit the local homeless population, rather than just being "taxes" that might go anywhere from emergency relief to paying the wages of a government worker to paying for military weapons to funding a pregnancy to … any number of things. With taxes, it’s a vague sense of handing it over to the government for any number of goods and services. With a charitable donation, it’s a lot more specific, and I think it’s the amount of detail that makes a difference to many people.

I can’t help thinking of the "think globally, act locally" adage. Some folks like to feel like they’re helping a neighbor or their community with their charity because it feels a little more personal than just handing it over to the government to allocate as they see fit. Besides, I hardly trust the current administration to allocate my funds for charity better than I can!