It is not the church that gives charity. It is the people who give it to the church. If a church is not being responsible it is obvious, and the people would leave that church, ask for new employment, or take legalities into consideration (lawsuit). For you to force people to help people, that is not help at all, rather enslavement. Would you be ok if the government forced people to give charity to the church? Charity is the greatest gift anybody can ever do, for it comes from the heart. And that is what this nation needs. People doing good things for others, directly from the heart. Instead we choose to push the limit, as to killing one-another over political party affiliation.
You can pretend that the US does not have democratic elections if that is what you need to do, but it does not impact your apparent affection for Somalia as a model of your ideal minimal governance. I still prefer first-world nations that espouse democratic principles, regulate capitalism and promote the general welfare of their citizens.
Your last sentence can be true for any private enterprise or charitable organization as well. We saw this with United Way years ago. And when churches start politicking from the pulpit, and putting Christian Coalition pamphlets on car windshields in their parking lot, I believe this would be classified as "political intent". Also, I made a comment earlier, that if the government gets out of the business of helping the poor, then only kind-hearted people will be giving to the poor, mentally ill, and disadvantaged. The Scrooges and Potters of the world will get richer, while the kind-hearted get poorer.
That is a tough one! The real question is.... How do we hold them accountable? Term limits would be a start. Balanced Budget Amendment might go a long way. They resist...
The Church takes care of the Faithful first. Do you believe there is any responsibility for individuals to live in a way to provide for their future short of disaster? Just asking...
That is why pessimists always call for larger government. Ever notice how the Amish provide for their own? Just a small example.
Sally.... when I speak of the Church, I mean the Body of Christ. I don't point to a specific organization. You are correct.
So this is a blanket statement - one size fits all. Let me get this straight. Maybe you could provide more specifics. Do you want government to stop issuing Food Stamps? Do you want government to stop providing Unemployment Compensation? Do you want government to stop providing Medicaid? Do you want to abandon Social Security?
The church is its people. We are "forced" to do lots of things by the government. We pay our taxes so they can carry out their duty. Charity is great and it's nice but can't replace a properly run welfare program.
Yep we already do. We have insurance, we have vaccinations, we work until we are old, we save and we pay our taxes.
Yes to all of the above. You've never lived independent of any of these? I do believe government could mandate personal saving accounts for the irresponsible. Personal Savings accounts belong to the individual. It is their own money and no bureaucrat can misappropriate it as they have with Social Insecurity. I've invested my MSA and done quite well. In fact, I needed stitches to day and paid my co-pay out of it. No problem,
The best way provide a safety net for the poor is allow the people keep their money instead of sending it to Washington D.C. Allowing the money (federal tax dollars) to remain local is more efficient. Money can be put to use directly at the local levels: local charitable organizations, towns, cities, counties, and states. The nearer we keep the aid and charity to the locality where it's needed, the more efficient and effective the money will be used. When charity money travels great distances before reaching it destination, as in the case of being filtered through the Federal Treasury, it loses value through congressional skimming off the top and wasteful spending from the bottom.
According to Trump the purpose of government is to turn wealthy people into super-wealthy people while working class Americans earn less and less only to eventually die because their employers don't provide health insurance anymore and the insurance the Republicans back is unaffordable if the person actually wants it to pay for any health care benefits.
Well some Americans do but that percentage is decreasing every year. Almost half of American workers don't even earn enough to take care of their family, can't afford to pay taxes, can't afford health insurance, and vaccinations are sometimes too expensive.
There are at least 92 federal programs designed to help lower-income Americans. For instance, there are dozens of education and job-training programs, 17 different food-aid programs, and over 20 housing programs. The federal government spent $799 billion on these programs in fiscal year 2012. http://budget.house.gov/waronpoverty/ That's a lot of money. Toss in the money from the states and we are at about 1trillon. 24- 25 million in poverty. That's 60k a year for a family of 3. With that kind of money, there shouldn't be poverty in the US.
Which just goes to show that you understand as little of my country as you understand of your own. I cannot deny that I don't know you, nor you me. But I have read your contributions to this thread and from that I have what I believe is a good sense of your stance on the subject. Taking it a step further I can say that your understanding of social workings is poor and that the years I lived in the U.S. is more than likely longer than the time you've lived there yourself.
That's cool....you are a fine Australian then! Does my dog resemble a Queensland Healer? It would be by markings only. He is a Catahoula, a strictly American breed.
Why do liberals insist it is governments role to play Robin Hood? Why do Liberal Presidents leave their office incredibly rich? Is there something I am missing???
Yep, I wondered if that cute pup was a heeler, but he does have a lot of roan. What do Catahoulas do? (Pardon the digression). Are they for mustering cattle or hunting dogs?
It must be very hard, if you are a poor person in the US. Poverty can trap you so that you can't escape.
