It’s that time of year again, the time when Americans consume more than ever, but also the time when Americans give more than ever. Indeed, America’s generosity as a whole is actually quite extensive, with Americans giving $471 billion in 2020, an all time high. That’s more than what the vast majority of countries bring in for tax revenue. 80% of this is from individuals, according to Giving USA.
Americans, in general, are incredibly generous, with 25% of Americans volunteering every year. Converted to a dollar value, this is roughly $179 billion worth of work. Most of this charity comes from the rich, with 93% of households that make over $162,501 donating to charity and 91% of households that make over $125,001 donating to charity.
Since the government started the “War on Poverty” 56 years ago, it has spent $27 trillion on this effort. And yet, it was only the beginning 7 years when poverty rates went down. Why? Well, one likely explanation is that welfare has taught people not to work, as governmental welfare dependency statistics have shown. Indeed, 93% of welfare recipients rely on welfare for more than 2 years. Charity, on the other hand, is not guaranteed, so it encourages people to take responsibility and become self-sufficient.
Another problem with government welfare is the bureaucracy. For example, studies have found that 70% of the money spent on budgeting for government assistance gets spent upholding the bureaucracies, with only 30% actually going to the poor.
Private charities, on the other hand, give over 70% of their proceeds to the poor. There are a ton of really good examples of this, like Feeding America, which can turn $1 into a shocking 12 pounds of food for the poor, or ten large meals.
In fact, raising half as much money from voluntary private charity instead of forced taxation is estimated to produce the same impact as the government, if not more.
Americans are a generous people, and we will step up and provide for the poor, especially if taxation is lowered through sensible cuts in welfare. Studies have found that “decreasing government funding increases the number of donors,” which makes sense because a decrease in public spending means the people have more money to spend themselves.
A huge welfare state is not a practical solution for America, and its one-size-fits-all approach simply isn’t working. The effects of the interventionist welfare state have been disastrous to taxpayers, communities, liberty, and the poor.
One reason for the inferior outcomes of government welfare is that government regulations are written in such a way that all similarly situated beneficiaries are treated equally.
Most government programs, for instance, distribute cash or other goods and services to all recipients without making any effort to distinguish between them. The sheer magnitude of government programs hinders individualization. For example, an illiterate homeless person cannot fill out a long governmental form, and some mothers do not know who the baby’s father is, so they cannot list his name on the required form.
On the other hand, charities provide custom solutions for everyone instead of a one-size-fits-all solution because charities are inventive, individualized, and flexible. Charities will not only be more cost-effective, but they will also provide the poor with more effective and humane care. Charities also foster a different attitude with both the donor and recipient because recipients learn that private philanthropy is a gift with reciprocal duties, not an entitlement. At the same time, donors understand that private philanthropy requires them to get involved personally. Spending someone else’s money, even for a noble cause, lacks compassion. True compassion necessitates active participation on the part of the individual.
Data from academics collected by Philanthropy Roundtable found that, from 71 different studies comparing the efficiencies of public agencies and private institutions, they found that there are government programs that perform better, and there are private charities that perform better. In 56 out of 71 cases, private charity performed better. There was no distinct difference in 10 out of 71 cases, and in 5 out of 71 cases, public agencies performed better.
All that to say, private charity constitutes a robust alternative to government welfare, one that is far more ethical and far more effective.
Joel Lim
Joel Lim is a professional writer, business owner, founder of Kids for Finance, and marketer.
This article was originally published on FEE.org. Read the original article.
Will America-First News Outlets Make it to 2023?
Things are looking grim for conservative and populist news sites.
There’s something happening behind the scenes at several popular conservative news outlets. 2021 was bad, but 2022 is proving to be disastrous for news sites that aren’t “playing ball” with the corporate media narrative. It’s being said that advertisers are cracking down, forcing some of the biggest ad networks like Google and Yahoo to pull their inventory from conservative outlets. This has had two major effects. First, it has cooled most conservative outlets from discussing “taboo” topics like Pandemic Panic Theater, voter fraud, or The Great Reset. Second, it has isolated those ad networks that aren’t playing ball.
Certain topics are anathema for most ad networks. Speaking out against vaccines or vaccine mandates is a certain path to being demonetized. Highlighting voter fraud in the 2020 and future elections is another instant advertising death penalty. Throw in truthful stories about climate change hysteria, Critical Race Theory, and the border crisis and it’s easy to understand how difficult it is for America-First news outlets to spread the facts, share conservative opinions, and still pay the bills.
Without naming names, I have been told of several news outlets who have been forced to either consolidate with larger organizations or who have backed down on covering certain topics out of fear of being “canceled” by the ad networks. I get it. This is a business for many of us and it’s not very profitable. Those of us who do this for a living are often barely squeaking by, so loss of additional revenue can often mean being forced to make cuts. That means not being able to cover the topics properly. Its a Catch-22: Tell the truth and lose the money necessary to keep telling the truth, or avoid the truth and make enough money to survive. Those who have chosen survival simply aren’t able to spread the truth properly.
We will never avoid the truth. The Lord will provide if it is His will. Our job is simply to share the facts, spread the Gospel, and educate as many Americans as possible while exposing the forces of evil.
To those who have the means, we ask that you please donate. We have options available now, but there is no telling when those options will cancel us. We just launched a new GiveSendGo page. We also have our GivingFuel page. There have been many who have been canceled by PayPal, but for now it’s still an option. Your generosity is what keeps these sites running and allows us to get the truth to the masses. We’ve had great success in growing but we know we can do more with your assistance.
Thank you, and God Bless!
JD Rucker
