The proposed budget would reinstate a so-called discretionary fund out of which council members could contribute to nonprofit agencies that serve public purposes. Each councilman would be able to distribute $7,500.
The mantra is "Government should not be involved in giving charity". Sure that's a concept I generally believe in but what happens when people don't donate to charity?
What about our region? How do we compare with the rest of the Nation when it comes to charitable giving? From the 2005 Giving USA report as reported by Forbes:
Region 3: East North Central: (Ill., Ind., Mich., Ohio, Wis.) In these Great Lakes States, giving trails compared to national averages, both in average amounts contributed and in percentage of income donated.
Those who rely on needing help from charities can't just magically disappear or wait until people decide to donate. Merely making this $7,500 per council person disappear from the $235.08 million budget isn't going to solve any of the requests for donations. The only way the need for donations will end is if individuals or corporations step up to donate first so that there is no need for worthwhile charties or agencies to request help in the first place. Government shouldn't have to fill this need, so if you are truly against it? Stop placing the government in the position where it feels it has to because we don't.
Here's just one local agency that needs your help...Toledo Seagate Food Bank
One of my favorite quotes from Franklin D. Roosevelt is on their sidebar:
The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much it is whether we provide enough for those who have little.
:-)
5 comments:
That's very true, some people have stopped caring about the issues, some issues probably deserve not to be cared about. However, it is the very people who stopped giving voluntarily and let government take care of those that the people used to care for that created this situation.
I have listened, I was having problems with the feed it kept cutting out but I'll keep tuning in.
I have problems with lazy people too, but I've also personally experienced some pretty bad times as well as knowing others who are still struggling. Most people would feel we are still struggling, however when you have something to compare it to we are doing much better. Experience has a way of changing your perception.
It's a difficult scenario for me, on the one hand my libertarian side says none of this should be funded by the Federal Government, yet the reality is if funding were to be cut Federally and locally with no other system in place people who are already facing being behind on a week to week basis would be in even worse shape.
Thank you for posting and I hope you continue to.
:-)
Lisa - perhaps the problem is that government takes too much of our own money leaving us with less to with as we please - like giving to charity and supporting people who need help.
My faith teaches me that it's my personal responsibility to help those in need - by doing it myself, not letting the government do it for me.
This is a much bigger issue than the $90,000 city council wants to spend or the $150,000 the commissioners have - this is a basic issue of how our government is going to function. Let me leave you with this quote to think about - it attributed to Alexander Titler:
“Democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largess (liberal gifts) from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, and is always followed by a dictatorship.”
Maggie, I'm sure that is a part of the reason why people do not donate to charity. Personally I think the problem is closer to the quote you used. I've also heard people say "Why should I donate anything I pay taxes and they go to support these people".
I wish I could disagree with that quote but I can't because most people do vote for the person that promises them the most and then when in office will try to bring home as much pork as possible to retain their office. We claim we want honesty yet in reality we rarely reward those who are being honest when it comes to winning an election. There are times when someone does win who runs on reform or straight answers but there are more out there that all they are doing is giving us a nice little pr package structured to what they think we want to hear. We as voters are the ones responsible for this though I realize it's popular to blame the politicians. Unless they as a group decided (which would be awesome) to stop promising more than they can realistically give or we can afford it's really going to be up to us as voters to start demanding candidates that are going to tell us how their plans are going to be paid for. How our future is going to be paid for at the present rate...
While locally I think some of our problems could be solved if the economy continues to grow, there will always be those who need help from time to time. I'd like to see the order changed to where the source of help comes from with the last sources on the list being in this order, local government, county government, state government then federal government. First being individuals, local charities, county charities, state charities, federal charities all funded from voluntary individual contributions not tax dollars.
Government will eventually reach a breaking point, history shows that has happened, unless people really do finally start to pay attention. I still have hope that there is time, but at times I do wonder.
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