Conservatives Say We Should Let Charities Help the Poor in Lieu of the Government [View all]

[rhett o rick]

Conservatives attempt to justify their lack of empathy and support for the disadvantaged among us by saying that charities should be helping the poor and not the government. This is a very lame argument.

How would that help the average wage-earner? The only answer the conservatives have is that it would lower taxes. Instead of giving $100 to the poor via taxes, the wage-earner could give $100 to the poor via a charity. The bottom line is that it wont save the wage-earner any money unless he doesn’t donate. The help for the poor will come from the wage-earners either via the government or via charities.

> Furthermore the current fraction of help for the poor that is carried by charities is very small.

“Overall, the U.S. government spends $105 billion annually on food programs to help the hungry, federal figures show.” (1) Compare that to, “Feeding America, the largest food charity in the United States (and one of the largest charities overall), moves $5 billion of food and funding to hungry people each year.” (1)

Another false conservative talking point is that if you eliminated federal funding for food programs, then charities would pick up a larger portion.

“Many {conservative} activists say that if taxes are reduced, private giving will automatically increase. But history shows that's incorrect. For each of the last 40 years, Americans have given away the same proportion of money without change: roughly 2 percent of GDP. Even after the Bush tax cuts in the early part of the century, the rate of giving didn't rise, experts say. “ (1)

If you eliminate federal funding of food programs, people will die.

> Also, what the conservatives ignore is the fact that charities get a high percentage of their revenue from ………..........….. wait for it …………. the federal government.

“Catholic Charities is one of the nation's most extensive social service networks, serving more than 10 million poor adults and children of many faiths across the country. It is made up of local affiliates that answer to local bishops and dioceses, but much of its revenue comes from the government. Catholic Charities affiliates received a total of nearly $2.9 billion a year from the government in 2010, about 62 percent of its annual revenue of $4.67 billion.” (2)

Conservatives don’t actually wish the poor would die, they just don’t care if they do.

Sources:

(1) http://articles.philly.com/2013-05-02/news/38960249_1_charity-hunger-special-supplemental-nutrition-program

(2) http://mediamatters.org/mobile/blog/2012/09/12/oreillys-accidental-support-for-planned-parenth/189845