56. The American Way

Hurricane Sandy lived up to its predictions.  New York, New Jersey, and areas throughout the mid-Atlantic have been devastated by the combination of northeastern snow and hurricane.  My heart goes out to all those affected and their families.  One of the greatest aspects of American society is her ability to respond to disaster.  Remember the tsunami in Thailand?  The earthquake in Haiti?  9/11?  Americans donated millions of dollars in private aid, their own money.  Hundreds of Americans travelled to help with relief efforts.  These were individuals who donated their time and money to make a difference in the lives of those in need.  As a people, we Americans have an amazing capacity for love and charity, a capacity that Democrats somehow think can only come from government.  They believe that only government, through taxation and bureaucracy, can distribute charity—like some great Robin Hood…taking from the greedy rich and giving to the downtrodden of the earth.  Unfortunately, whatever goes to the government first gets filtered through layers of agencies, to distribute as best benefits their agenda.  What this storm, and other natural disasters, should teach us is how much more efficient and meaningful it is to us a people to be able to give of our own free will, to those who will use the money to directly help those in need, in ways that will be most effective.  98% or so of what the Salvation Army takes in in private donations is used to directly help those in need.  It’s impossible to even calculate what tiny amount of what government takes in from taxes will ever go to really help individuals.   Imagine how much more good could be done if private charities like the Salvation Army had the billions of dollars we give to the government each year!  Milton Freidman said it well:  individuals spend their money more efficiently than other people spending their money; the least efficient is when government spends our money.  What if we paid 10% less in taxes to our wasteful government, and instead gave that 10% to private charities, or churches,  hospitals, or needy individuals directly?  That’s billions of dollars!  Imagine what could be accomplished!

 

We don’t need government to take care of our citizens in need.  They’ve been taking our money for decades and our needy are no better off.  We need government to let us keep more of our money so WE can take care of our citizens in need.  On Tuesday, let’s vote Obama and his corrupt Democrats out of office.  Then let’s get to work really solving the problems of our country… the American way.