As, many of you are aware our local “newspaper” is very liberal. Long ago I stopped writing letters to editor because that same “newspaper” only prints those letters with a leftward bent. So the other day I was surprised when a rational letter was actually printed.
The headline above the letter read:
Cash grants helped those in need, but should our government adopt such programs?
The letter was as follows:
“In experiments, San Diego researchers gave cash to low-income people. Here’s what they learned.” (Aug. 10) Kudos to the cash aid programs of Jewish Family Services for making progress toward helping people get a new start on life. Impoverished families and individuals are worthy recipients of such gifting and in need of help. The economic stability, wealth-building potential and ability to plan for the future are worthy attributes of this kind of funding. Such programs go upstream to head off homelessness before it gets embedded in people’s lives.
But I caution against unforeseen problems that such entitlement programs can create when adopted by government. Government programs are by their nature coercive, anonymous, and incomplete. The recipients of support and the taxpayer never meet. Individual relationships and community social support are never realized except by chance. Cash programs generally meet material needs, not relational needs. Citizens need to help each other by directly investing in each other’s lives. That can’t easily be done in a government-funded program.”
The other issue with government entitlement programs is that there is never a choice for the individual tax payers as to whether or not they approve of the recipient individuals or recipient groups. For instance, is it appropriate for the government to give away the money paid by an agnostic taxpayer to a solely Christian group? Would it not be better for Christian taxpayers to give to Christian individuals or groups, and allow the agnostic to give to individuals or groups that are more aligned with his philosophy?
If the answer to that question is ‘yes,’ then the way to accomplish this would be the same as it is to innumerable other questions and quandaries … strive to get the get government more and more out of our lives!
8/23/24
www.californiacontrarian.com