Welfare hurts poor people (and the rich)
We should give to the poor. But must we?
In a voluntary exchange both parties benefit. A rich man may give money to the poor, and the poor may give nothing in return, but the rich man still gets something. He may get to feel good about himself. He may, if religious, get a feeling that he has laid up treasure in heaven. He may simply get satisfaction out of the poor man's smile, or knowing that he has made the poor man's life better. He may get public recognition—entire hospitals and colleges have been built for this seemingly trivial benefit.
Voluntary exchanges always benefit both parties, otherwise they would not occur. Forced charity, on the other hand, hurts both parties.
If the rich man's money is forcibly taken (through taxation), he gets nothing. No recognition. No smiling poor. He might not even want outward recognition, but he does not even know where his money goes. He may kid himself that his money will be used to help the poor, but in reality the majority of his taxes will funnel into the pockets of special interest groups. It will likely help fund the military-industrial complex (the largest special-interest in America), and go toward buying ten-thousand dollar bombs to be dropped on the unimaginably poor people of the Middle East. Believing it to be otherwise does not make it so.
In forced welfare the poor man also loses. Instead of getting money from a friend or benefactor, he gets it from a bureaucrat. The bureaucracy attaches many strings to the money. For example, it only pays the man if he is unmarried, jobless, or without savings. The man is in this way deprived of companionship, of the self-worth that comes from working, and the ability to pull himself out of poverty by thrift and hard-work. He must grovel and obey the faceless bureaucrat, or be cut off from the means of his sustenance.
What about the bureaucrat that hands out the taxes to the poor? For him it is a job. If he feels any sense of beneficence, it, too, is stolen. He is being generous with someone else's money.
In forced welfare, there is no charity—and no gratitude—because the money belongs to another.
Forced welfare, being done on a national level, excludes the poor of other nations. The foreign poor, in the case of the U.S., are much poorer than our poor. Not only are they excluded for living elsewhere, but they are forcibly evicted, imprisoned, or shot if they try to come here. Even those who come peacefully, just to work, we force out for "mooching" off the system. Welfare thus creates a racist, anti-immigration mentality that hurts foreign poor.
The government's War on Poverty has made the poor poorer. Whole generations of people are now dependent on stolen welfare, and must continually vote for the nanny-state, or risk losing their livelihoods.
Charitable people who would give to the poor, now don't. The money they could spare has already been forcibly taken, and when they pass a beggar, they wonder why he doesn't just apply for welfare. Social capital, which has taken care of the poor for 6,000 years, has been replaced by political capital, which is being used to make the poor poorer, dependent, and racist.
Welfare corrupts the teachings of Jesus into a lie. When a man gives to the poor, he becomes a better man. When his money is taken and given to the poor, he is no better, and may be worse, because he no longer has any money left to give to the poor. Jesus told us to give to the poor. He meant our own money, not money we stole* from someone else. Forced charity does not enable the teachings of Jesus—it destroys them.
We should help the poor. We should help them become independent from the state, which forces them into a servile state of dependency.
Learn more about the LDS welfare program here, and here.
*You may argue that taxes are not theft. But the government will throw you into prison if you do not pay, even if you do not want their services. Even if you do not want to pay for their wars. Even if you have learned that the income tax is unconstitutional, and will destroy our free society (like 83-year-old Irwin Schiff).
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| I win! (Edited by Double Birds) |
In a voluntary exchange both parties benefit. A rich man may give money to the poor, and the poor may give nothing in return, but the rich man still gets something. He may get to feel good about himself. He may, if religious, get a feeling that he has laid up treasure in heaven. He may simply get satisfaction out of the poor man's smile, or knowing that he has made the poor man's life better. He may get public recognition—entire hospitals and colleges have been built for this seemingly trivial benefit.
Voluntary exchanges always benefit both parties, otherwise they would not occur. Forced charity, on the other hand, hurts both parties.
If the rich man's money is forcibly taken (through taxation), he gets nothing. No recognition. No smiling poor. He might not even want outward recognition, but he does not even know where his money goes. He may kid himself that his money will be used to help the poor, but in reality the majority of his taxes will funnel into the pockets of special interest groups. It will likely help fund the military-industrial complex (the largest special-interest in America), and go toward buying ten-thousand dollar bombs to be dropped on the unimaginably poor people of the Middle East. Believing it to be otherwise does not make it so.
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| You want some of this? |
What about the bureaucrat that hands out the taxes to the poor? For him it is a job. If he feels any sense of beneficence, it, too, is stolen. He is being generous with someone else's money.
In forced welfare, there is no charity—and no gratitude—because the money belongs to another.
Forced welfare, being done on a national level, excludes the poor of other nations. The foreign poor, in the case of the U.S., are much poorer than our poor. Not only are they excluded for living elsewhere, but they are forcibly evicted, imprisoned, or shot if they try to come here. Even those who come peacefully, just to work, we force out for "mooching" off the system. Welfare thus creates a racist, anti-immigration mentality that hurts foreign poor.
The government's War on Poverty has made the poor poorer. Whole generations of people are now dependent on stolen welfare, and must continually vote for the nanny-state, or risk losing their livelihoods.
Charitable people who would give to the poor, now don't. The money they could spare has already been forcibly taken, and when they pass a beggar, they wonder why he doesn't just apply for welfare. Social capital, which has taken care of the poor for 6,000 years, has been replaced by political capital, which is being used to make the poor poorer, dependent, and racist.
Welfare corrupts the teachings of Jesus into a lie. When a man gives to the poor, he becomes a better man. When his money is taken and given to the poor, he is no better, and may be worse, because he no longer has any money left to give to the poor. Jesus told us to give to the poor. He meant our own money, not money we stole* from someone else. Forced charity does not enable the teachings of Jesus—it destroys them.
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| I endorse the welfare state! |
Learn more about the LDS welfare program here, and here.
*You may argue that taxes are not theft. But the government will throw you into prison if you do not pay, even if you do not want their services. Even if you do not want to pay for their wars. Even if you have learned that the income tax is unconstitutional, and will destroy our free society (like 83-year-old Irwin Schiff).
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