Thoughts on private and public charities.

It has been shown by some social scientists that charity and foriegn aid keep people down by rewarding non-production and depencency. When we send boatloads of grain to 3rd world nations it propagates petty dictatorships by keeping the people fed and not alowing the impetus for hungry disaffected subjects to overthrow a corrupt military junta. Much foriegn aid is stolen by the corrupt governments themselves and resold to their own starving people or fed to the military that murders and subjugates its citizens.

Private charities are a lesser evil. The money donated in and of itself breeds corruption, dependency and fraud.

Many people believe there needs to be a safety net for those who get caught with their pants down with no money, food, shelter etc...

How many live their lives on the edge, not caring about saving or planning when they know there will be a shelter, food bank and aid vouchers waiting for them if they screw up or decide to let their lives go tits up.

Which brings me to the corruption of private charities. Nobody likes to talk about it but much of the money you donate goes to administration of the charity itself. Many don't realize that the upper level executives of the large non-profit charities make millions of dollars each year in salaries, bonuses and other perks.

My Aunt worked for a MAJOR charity for 33 years. On her deathbed she revealed that the mailroom workers stole all donation envelopes on the spot because the workers expected all cash would be pocketed by the managers above them if they didn't take it themselves.

All material donations were sorted and the best items were taken home by the employees then utilized or resold for their own profit. She also went on to say the donation buckets were regularly lost, pilfered and under-reported. In other words there was no oversight and much went into the pockets of employees.

The United Way was caught with its pants down in 1992 when Bill Aramony was fired and later convicted of misusing funds for his personal benefit. Then another major scandal surfaced in 2002, when the United Way of the National Capital Area (UWNCA) came under investigation. Its former CEO, Oral Suer, stole $497,000 from the charity.

There is no good answer regarding charity and helping those in need. The best bet is to do like they did in the old days by helping neighbors when they are in trouble. That way you can see and reap direct benefits from your actions and make a tangible investment in your own community.