posted on Jul, 21 2009 @ 08:04 PM
reply to post by suzque66
I'm not sure if I can buy into the idea that the government fosters any sense of community at the local level. If anything it takes away the
responsibility of the individual; one just thinks, "Oh there's a government program for that, I don't have to worry about it."
Giving to charity, however, forces you to examine an issue and to hold the organization accountable. Thus charities are more subject to "market
forces" in this sense. If you find out your favorite charity was diverting it's resources to support the lavish lifestyle of it's founder you
might think twice about donating. If the government, on the other hand, was wasting money right and left, lining the pockets of friends and
family or funding objectionable behavior (e.g. military spending for lib.s or pornography for conservatives), you can't really do much about it.
The government still extracts taxes by force if necessary.
This speaks again to the folly of having government rob from the middle class and the rich (but primarily the middle class) to pay for the health care
of the poor and probably, in this case illegal aliens. There is no accountability and the money is essentially wasted.