NationStates Jolt Archive

I was noticing something when dealing with a couple of issues on my nation. The game tends to assume that if the government doesn't do it, then it doesn't get done. If the government isn't taking care of the homeless, then nobody is. Of course, that isn't how it works in real life. Then again, this is a fairly limited game, and you can't have everything.

However, I wonder how much people expect private charities and organizations to take care of things. As a conservative/libertarian, I can be accused of being heartless because I want to cut a lot of social programs (Social Security, Medicare, etc.). However, I think that if we also cut taxes by the same amount, a good chunk of change would be shifted from the government pocket to private groups to pick up the slack. Private groups also tend to have a better record on accountability, efficiency, and avoiding fraud.

Any other thoughts?

Perhaps you're not heartless, just overly optimistic.

Poor people are actually more charitable. They donate a larger portion of their income than the wealthy. I don't think they can carry the burden alone.

Unfortunately, greed is nearly universal, at least in America. If welfare is cut to the bone and taxes cut, people will inevitably spend the money on themselves, not on charity. While natural disasters do create exceptions, Americans will slip a few bucks to the cause and then forget about it, and buy the next plasma TV or SUV to come along.

Yes, American culture makes me sick. And I'm really embarrassed to call myself an American.

yea becuase no one anywhere else wants anything.

Listen, from someone who has been to the third world, they still want stuff. They want stuff just as much as Americans do, perhaps more. Human nature is to desire selfish things jack. Its not a America thing, perhaps if you ever leave the USA you willl realise this. And stop listing to someone whos doing your thinking for you.

Unfortunately, greed is nearly universal, at least in America. If welfare is cut to the bone and taxes cut, people will inevitably spend the money on themselves, not on charity. While natural disasters do create exceptions, Americans will slip a few bucks to the cause and then forget about it, and buy the next plasma TV or SUV to come along.

Yes, American culture makes me sick. And I'm really embarrassed to call myself an American.

While I agree that you should acknowledge the problem and feel sadness for it, I don't see why you would be embarrassed to call yourself an American. It's not like you had any control over where you were born, and you seem more aware of and concerned about your country's problems than most. *shrug*

Perhaps you're not heartless, just overly optimistic.

Poor people are actually more charitable. They donate a larger portion of their income than the wealthy. I don't think they can carry the burden alone.

Proportion, sure. But what about actual dollar value?

I was cruising the Libertarian Party website not too long ago, and I ran across a very smart idea. Suppose that we streamlined the tax structure so that most of the deductions were gone, except for a few broad ones (children, education, first-time home-buyer, a couple more). Suppose also that we changed the way that deductions for charitable contributions were made, so that instead of deducting them from the income, they are deducted from the tax to be paid. Would that provide a big enough incentive for rich folks to donate?

As for people just being greedy, what about people like Bill and Melinda Gates? They recently donated an insane ($10 billion?) amount of money to combat various plagues in India. Why wouldn't people do the same for things here in the States?