This was my response on another blog, about cutting taxes and government "charity" aid and allow US citzens to take the tax cuts and give it to charity themselves.

In theory your idea is right on, but in practice I'm afraid it fails. The bottom line in my opinion is as a soceity we have to determine if taking care of the poor / less fortunate is important. As a democracy what the public wants in theory the public will get. There are two ways to support the poor as a soceity, we could leave it up to ourselves to contribute to charities, or we could establish government programs to perform the roll of the charities and have everyone contribute in the form of taxes. Correct me if I'm wrong, but before The New Deal, the majority of aid to the poor was through private donations, but now the government has established several programs to help the poor.

Another problem is deciding which programs the government should support and which should not. This is always a huge problem when cuts must be made and those making the cuts are always cast as evil doers who only care for their own kind. My opinion is that you can do alot to help by yourself. If the only charity you give is through your tax dollar, than you have no right in my mind to call someone greedy or non-caring when they want to cut a government program.

My point during the election was you don't have to wait for the government to develop a program to help the poor, you can do it yourself. There are plenty of charities that will take your money. More valuable than money often times is your time. If everyone cared about the poor and helped out, we wouldn't need medicare or welfare, but that is not the case.

As far as the rich go, they often times are the greedy ones. Ready Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath, where they say if you need help the poor are the ones that will share what they have with you long before the wealthy. Also, in New York City when the cab fares went up a few months ago they interviewed cabbies, who make nothing by the way, and they say the worst tippers are the ones on the Upper East Side who make the most money.

I like to give to Christian organizations that are not eligible for federal funds because they present the Gospel. One great one when we live in Dallas was an organization that helped women who were escaping abusive relationships. It gave them a place to stay, trained them how to find and peform a job, and helped them get on their feet. They had a nightly worship service as well and present Jesus Christ as hope for a better future. If you look in your community there are probably multiple charities that would love your money and your time!