How will disabled individuals and others stricken by nature survive without government ‘charity?’
3/20/15

 

 

 

Voluntary interactions will take care of people.  Yes, to many it may seem to be an act of faith.  I’m not going to even relay that I can assure you of anything.  Ultimately you are going to have to find the solution by either interacting with others or creating it yourself.

 

Just as private roads can be crafted by a variety of solutions that overlap such as businesses running toll roads, big box stores maintaining roads as a perk to attract customers, Home Owners Associations collecting dues, or even the generally accepted idea of a common space that no modifications can be made to.  Yes, those all exist in the real world.  You just have to look for them.

 

You’re a smart and intelligent individual.  You can find the examples.  And the same is the case with private charities to help the poor, disabled, homeless, and ill stricken.

 

As I do not have health insurance, I tell my doctors up front.  I tell them that I have some cash, but not a lot.  They are more willing to take the cash and offer me a quality service because they know they are going to be paid instead of having to wait months for a possible reduced payment from heavily regulated insurance companies or government health services.  I actually get a small amount of charity by being upfront with the doctors I see in the form of cash discounts.  If I can get that kind of charity then there have to be other kinds out there.

 

In fact there is a lot of charity available if you know where to look!  In the recent months I recall there being a Kickstarter campaign about a couple with children (maybe not with children, the details are sketchy in my mind.) who wanted to get out of the bad neighborhood they were a part of.  They both had student debt, credit card debt, and worked jobs that barely paid their bills.

 

They wanted to move but couldn’t’ afford it.  So they started one of those online fundraiser campaigns.  They only needed to raise about $1,200 or so.  I want to say that they ended up raising over ten grand worth!  That’s a huge chunk of change!  They took the money and continued to update their campaign page with photos and continual thanks showing how they used the funds to improve their lives and start some kind of a halfway house like project for others.

 

In my case, I can’t afford to give money to others.  I can afford to give knowledge and an open ear.  So whenever I am asked for aid by beggars or others in need I try to walk with them and talk to them on our way to a food line or shelter.  I make it a point to learn these bits of information and allow extra time to do so.

 

Maybe that’s not the kind of charity that people want to hear about.  I’m betting it more akin to who is going to pay those massive doctor bills and provide living assistance for those who can’t provide for themselves at all!  Am I right?

 

I thought so!  And here’s how it will work.

 

So let’s start with that Pastor in Florida who was arrested for serving hot meals to the hungry and homeless.  He was arrested repeatedly over the course of the last decade because he didn’t have a permit to serve food.  Think about that for a moment.

 

(Read about that here, http://www.cbsnews.com/news/90-year-old-man-2-pastors-charged-with-feeding-homeless-in-florida/ )

 

Government stopped a 90 year old plus man from using his skills as a cook to serve food to the homeless and hungry.  The benevolence of government put the life of an old man in danger for helping others.  That’s how government handles private charity.  It restricts it and demands permits for a variety of reasons that it claims are necessary to protect the individual citizen.  It demands obedience to its authority.

 

What if a doctor decided to utilize his skills to treat the needy and sick?  Would the government stop him since what he is doing requires many layers of licenses and permits?  Absolutely!

 

(Read about that here, http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/health-care/item/19947-state-persecuting-88-year-old-doctor-who-treats-poor-from-his-car )

 

That happened to an 88 year old Doctor who treated the poor from his car.  But government said no!

 

Look at all of the things people are trying to do despite the government.  Imagine if government wasn’t in the way.  How many other people would be doing these things?  How many hospitals run for profit would be offering services for free as publicity if not for the overwhelming amount of nasty and far too often unnecessary litigation from over regulation!?

 

What about the businesses, like restaurants, that have to throw away their product because it might be unsafe to consume at the end of the day by the needy and homeless!?  Government forbids that.  What about Kroger, a grocer, which has to throw away cans of food and bags of breads because they are one day expired but not moldy or opened?

 

Look at all of the waste incurred by businesses that could otherwise counter the destitution of our society if not for the coercive benevolence of government intervention.

 

If people can raise $10,000 to move to a new town then why can’t a doctor treat people for free?  Why can’t a Pastor feed the hungry?  Why can’t your local grocer give away expired product?  Because there is nothing in it for government is why.  Those people who collected $10,000 had to pay taxes on that money.

 

This is the problem with the current aspect of affairs.  It’s not entirely about how the ‘free’ market isn’t doing anything.  It’s about how the no longer free market is being hindered and outright stopped from helping people.  There is no reason why I can’t go work at a local restaurant for a few days and get paid in meal credits.  But the government says no!  Why?  Because it needs to have a cut in the action through payroll taxes and it doesn’t want a portion of my meal credit.  Imagine the number of people who could be put to work as day laborers if government taxation practices didn’t exist.  People could just show up to job sites and work, be paid, and go home to never come back if they wanted allowing others to fill in.

 

Are you starting to see the problem here?  It’s government entirely.  It’s not about the greed of the free market.  The free market is anything but free because of government regulations and unwarranted interventions.  I can’t even sell my own baked goods in my local town without some jerk complaining that I don’t have a permit to sell baked goods!

 

How am I supposed to pull myself out of poverty if I have to pay so much in fees and permits and taxes in order to create a legal job for myself?

 

Government is the problem!

 

I know.  I’m starting to sound like a broken record.  But the truth isn’t always pleasant.  There is no reason why we can’t have a multitude of large charities and small ranging from large businesses to individual old men going about helping people through voluntary interactions.  If you can dream it then it can be done; provided of course government doesn’t get in the way.

 

But until we solve the issue of government we will not likely solve the issue of supposed ‘free’ market greed that hates charity.

 

-JLD

 

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