Do you remember back in 2004 when the huge tsunami hit Asia?  The world was shocked and nations immediately began donating money for relief and rebuilding.  The EU pledged  several billion dollars and the US promised $500 million.  Well the European response was scathing.  With their noses pointed skyward they asked why the US was doing so little when they, the enlightened socialists that they were, had promised so much more.  However, the silence was deafening when billions of dollars came pouring in from private companies and individuals.  In the end, individuals in the EU gave very little to the relief effort, but Americans stunned the world with their generosity. Why?  Why are Americans so generous and compassionate?  Why do we get so little credit around the world for our generosity?  It all boils down to our view of the role of the government versus the role of the individual.

In much of the world, taking care of people, solving problems, building community, has been taken over, or always has been, the role of the government.  People see little need to donate to a worthy cause because fixing problems is the governments’ job.  They pay confiscatory tax rates and their governments have justified those taxes by promising them cradle to grave security.  In their minds, paying taxes is the moral equivalent of giving to charity.  Sadly, unless we do something, we are sprinting down that same path.

How did we get here?  It used to be that communities took care of themselves.  Churches had their ears and eyes on the community and when there was a REAL need they stepped up and quietly, compassionately, with the proper guidance when necessary, lent a hand.  But when government offers a solution, when faceless, rigid bureaucrats throw money at problems without working on the root causes, problems are never solved and programs become self-perpetuating.  But when did the government become the arbiter of whose needs are most important?  Has this evolution been accidental or intentional?

I think we can trace the problem back to the Great Depression.  When FDR botched a normal cyclical recession into a depression, he put us into a place where churches were overwhelmed by the needs of the community.  This allowed the government to step in with a smile and a handout and gradually marginalize the church and, to some extent, replace it as the moral authority.  But, has any government program ever solved a problem?  How many trillions of dollars have been spent since the Great Society program began?  Poverty rates have remained virtually unchanged but we now have a large sector of our population which has absolutely zero interest in either working or improving their economic situation.  As long as a check comes every month, why be accountable to anyone or anything.

We need to “take back charity”.  We need to make government stop trying to solve social problems with amoral solutions.  Churches and individuals are best equipped and positioned to see the needs, influence people to make better life decisions, and put resources where they will make the most impact.  Non-profits have much lower overhead and are managed by people who really care, work in the trenches, and understand the problems. Big government programs always produce results in direct opposition of their stated intent because bureaucracies are self-perpetuating and will never “solve” themselves out of existence.  Most of you work for the government, you know what I’m talking about!

There is a place for government in charity.  There are people with lifelong severely debilitating conditions which require long term costly care, but the vast majority of those living off of you and me are capable of becoming productive citizens but have never been held accountable for their own actions and decisions and never will unless there are some drastic changes in entitlement programs.  If you want to see the future, look at Greece, look at Spain, look at France.  The “takers” are willing to let their nations collapse around them rather than give up anything.  Democracies always fail once the “takers” outnumber the “givers”.  And Socialism always fails because you eventually run out of someone elses money.  Combine the two and it’s a fast ride to the bottom of the hill.

Take Back Charity!