I was once the treasure of a government and business program (keeping the name anonymous to protect the people I worked with). I was asked to attend a meeting to see presentations from the different areas of out reach so I would feel comfortable signing the budget. The first presenter was in charge of coordinating the local food banks. He presented a PowerPoint presentation and when he got to a slide showing the success they had achieved I raised my hand to point out a mistake with his graph.
The graph depicted a ten-year trend of food collection; in year one they collected 100,000 pounds of food and now the collect five million pounds. Since the social program he works for was mandated to put people to work, I pointed out that his graph should be headed to zero pounds. Since I was the only non-public employee in the room, all eyes were on me. I explained that if our goal is to get people back to work, why are we collecting more food, increasing the budget, and hiring more employees? I went on to say that the goal should be to put this program out of business. That was too much common sense.
I am not a mean person; I care deeply for the less fortunate. I was once in my life very poor. My dad and I would pick up cans in a garbage dump to make money for our mortgage. I have walked in their shoes. I have gone without many comforts. I understand their struggles and make a point to help. I give to my Church’s soup kitchen and donated food to Church’s food bank for example. This is where social programs need to be, in the local community, run by volunteers, and supported by donations. The paradigm shift will benefit everyone. We will be able to due away with some government run social programs and allow volunteer efforts to expand. Here is how it works.
Instead of me paying tax to the government to support a social program, some that go against my values and principles, I get to choose who I give to. The benefits of doing this are significant. The government does not need to pay people to collect these taxes, prepare reports, print checks, and spend time discussing who gets what, etc. etc. etc. Communities get to choose which non-profit organizations they get to donate to, their money goes further due to fewer overheads, they don’t support programs that are not needed in their community, and the list goes on and on.
This is only one program run by the government that doesn’t make sense. I am sure there are many more. I don’t want to due away with social programs, I want the operations to be conducted by local organizations. I want to be able to choose where my money will go and not have the government decide. I am not helpless. I can decide. I can choose. I can make a difference. And I can do it better without government intervention.
Harry
