“Charity can take care of it” is a common refrain I’m hearing in response to US government funding being cut across the board. No. No, it can’t. - ThreadSky

katharinehayhoe.com • 17 hours ago

“Charity can take care of it” is a common refrain I’m hearing in response to US government funding being cut across the board.

No. No, it can’t.

Comments

98percent.bsky.social•14 hours ago

Maybe I’ll believe it when the oligarchs start tithing.

annetha.bsky.social•8 hours ago

I was amazed working for a quasi-governmental agency (environment) how much good and leverage could come from a teensy little grant program, which was just an afterthought relative to our main program.

abnegazar.bsky.social•16 hours ago

Hmmm, current tax law discourages charitable contributions.

brettlittle.bsky.social•17 hours ago

Sadly no one knows about this agency. I never heard of it. Then also if people are struggling in the US why would they care about this.

abottawa.bsky.social•13 hours ago

No it can't, but there is another scarier refrain that "business can take care of it". Desire for citizens to become only consumers.

ulaskimarta.bsky.social•16 hours ago

YES and due to cuts in foreign aid, Malawi is experiencing rising inflation and increasing food prices - making it even more difficult for charities to provide services.

We can't fill the gap left by USAID - but if anyone feels moved by this please consider donating: https://malawiorphancareproject.org/

redshoes.bsky.social•15 hours ago

I think most Americans have an incorrect perception of what % of fed budget is USAID and the return on $ it provides. Better cuts in budget would be to eliminate all fossil fuel subsidies, especially since they post such record profits 😒🤔

tapirtrouble.bsky.social•13 hours ago

That's exactly right. Not just in the US, people tend to overestimate foreign aid by a huge amount. It's not 20-30% -- it's under 1% for most countries.

turblescelbor.bsky.social•11 hours ago

I think people in the USA don't understand the use of foreign aid as a tool of hegemony, and the current administration wants to return to a form of imperialism similar to what the US employed in the Philippines pre-ww2.

permanentmajority.bsky.social•15 hours ago

elanandcupcakes.bsky.social•16 hours ago

Charity requires rich men to be generous for the sake of a tax break and good PR. They won’t need the tax break anymore under Trump/Musk, so how generous do you think they’ll be?

wbrianlane.bsky.social•17 hours ago

If charity were going to take care of it, charity would have by now.

david-kidd.bsky.social•1 hour ago

Especially within the borders of rich countries, people should not be dependent on charity for the most basic items of survival

david-kidd.bsky.social•15 hours ago

😥😡

lathc.bsky.social•14 hours ago

Also, the average nonprofit gets 30-40% of funding from government sources.... which are what's getting cut.

gerardtb.bsky.social•6 hours ago

The 'people of god' are the ones who took it.

russ.amodernremedy.com•16 hours ago

And who's going to take care of charity? 😔

revjss.bsky.social•13 hours ago

📌

ausrob.bsky.social•17 hours ago

Often heard: "because I pay taxes, I don't feel I need to donate to charities"

winterscminter.bsky.social•16 hours ago

Oh, they'll still keep saying that!

thegeordiebuddhist.bsky.social•16 hours ago

Whereas charities give us the opportunity for us to exercise kindness, they only exist because governments fail in their duties. Whether it's failing financially or a lack of will. In the UK, I have seen politicians lower funding to various bodies because they 'can be manned by volunteers'

LeatherCubAndrew.4bear.com.ap.brid.gy•15 hours ago

@katharinehayhoe.com "charity can take care of it" is a cop out by Republicans and the wealthy who refuse to pay their fair share

ncoppens.bsky.social•9 hours ago

The very need for charities is indicative of a failing society.

themeekwarrior.bsky.social•4 hours ago

Charity depends on people being generous. When the common folk have no disposable income, are the rich (who are on record stealing wages and finding other ways to not pay people) going to dip into their fortunes for those less fortunate?

bradlovett.bsky.social•1 hour ago

"But....but...but you can get a meal if you pray the sinner's prayer correctly". /s

jdl56.bsky.social•17 hours ago

Right wing commentators in Canada often note that Americans give more to charity than Canadians. One reason for that is so many Americans have to create Go Fund Me pages to pay for medical bills--something Canadians don't have to do since we have free health care.

turblescelbor.bsky.social•11 hours ago

It's shocking to me how many people in the US think everyone in Canada is on the verge of death at any moment due to "bad" healthcare and then think it's totally normal to let homeless people die in the street because they can't pay for insulin.

itisgeorge.bsky.social•15 hours ago

The comments on that article... wow. Hardly anyone saying "we'll take care of it" and a bunch of people throwing up excuses for why we shouldn't do it at all.

akjackson.bsky.social•16 hours ago

What they really mean is that I want someone else to pay.

tapirtrouble.bsky.social•14 hours ago

This is exactly why Tommy Douglas (Kiefer Sutherland's grandpa, Premier of Saskatchewan, and the guy who brought Medicare to Canada) turned to political action. He was a minister during the Depression and tried to support his disintegrating community -- and saw the problem was too big.

lucycodex.bsky.social•4 hours ago

Libertarians have this illogical ideology known as "voluntarism". Which posits that instead of taxes being used to help people, people will voluntarily fund hospitals, fire departments, infrastructure repair, etc.

They seem to ignore the fact that people can't match the efficacy of a government.

phinaborgeson.bsky.social•16 hours ago

This is true domestically, too. Those who assume faith communities and philanthropy will take care of it have paid no attention to changed patterns in giving and volunteering.

shirvill.bsky.social•16 hours ago

Charity is a failure of governments' responsibilities.
It will never do all of what govts fail to. And if govt keeps telling everyone that their vulnerable neighbours don't need or deserve support, who will donate to charities?

4astevej.bsky.social•3 hours ago

If all the billionaires who claim to be Christian actually tithed - 10% of net worth, not just income, perhaps we could. My experience as a Pastor is that people prefer to help people they know or at least live in their own communities. Giving to people in Africa is a different proposition.

hagios.bsky.social•3 hours ago

RepubliKKKans were claiming that 50 years ago! 😇

ronnpiano.bsky.social•14 hours ago

You are absolutely correct. Charity is the last resort when there is no wisdom to have done the right thing from the start.

505queen.bsky.social•13 hours ago

💔💔

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