Where Charity Begins....

The American people are the most generous and giving on this planet. If there is a tsunami in Asia you can bet your last dollars that some American has started raising money to help the survivors. At this time of year millions of kids are the beneficiaries of that kindness through churches, Blue, Brown and Red Santa, the Salvation Army, you name it. Yesterday a local radio station raised over $18,000 in one hour for their annual Bikes for Kids program. We have huge hearts and we always have had.

So what is the problem you ask? Well, in my opinion there are two. The first problem is that the recipients of our charity have turned from an attitude of gratitude to an attitude of expectation. Our government throws our money around all over the world in an effort to buy friends. Mind you that is money we have BORROWED!!!! Add to that the in kind contributions by being the world's policemen and it is a staggering amount of money that is given away. And what do we get in return? We are resented worldwide by all of them and their allegiance to us is good only until the ink dries on the check. If they don't play nice and we tie some strings to the foreign aid scalded rats couldn't squeal any louder.

Same goes for our own people. When I was growing up being "on the dole" was akin to having a scarlet letter emblazoned on your chest in Hawthorne's day. Yes there was a need and it was generally addressed on a local basis. Churches helped people and allowed them the dignity to work for what they got. But there was a stigma associated with it and any self respecting man finding himself in that situation would do anything he could to get out of it. Having grown up in what today would be called a working poor family memories of having little money and payday being a week off are emblazoned in my mind. There was no money for extras and those only came because I worked for them from a young age. I am not complaining because those experiences taught me the value of an education and guided me to a successful life.

But the attitude has changed 180 degrees. Nowadays kids that were in similar circumstances as mine are not afforded that opportunity to learn. They are taught from a young age that the government will take care of them and that the "check" they get is an entitlement, not benevolence for a short term financial difficulty. Fathers have been replaced by the government, thereby removing any male influence in the households. Young people see no need to work so they breed, creating more dependents on the state.

The second problem is that it has somehow become evil to attain a comfortable standard of living and accumulated wealth. It amazed me how a man like Mitt Romney, who 20 years ago would have been regaled for his success in the business arena, was pilloried by the press and the Democrats as the epitome of evil. So if you have worked hard, become educated, and make a decent living you did that on the backs of the poor. And especially at this time of year! We are assaulted daily with stories of kids that will not have Christmas because of George Bush, and how we must take care of them. And we have been made to feel so guilty about our level of comfort we roll over like a lap dog and empty our pockets. The numbers of families served by The Salvation Army, Blue, Red and Brown Santa organizations, Toys for Tots, etc. are staggering! This doesn't include the churches that will adopt families independently. I have been involved with these organizations over the years and in some cases the children of these disadvantaged families make out better than the kids of the families donating the gifts. I have delivered gifts to these families and money always seemed to be available for late model cars, flat screen TV's, cigarettes, wine, etc. But each year we are made to feel guilty, we give more money, and the dependency increases.

So how do we turn this around? Well, it doesn't look like that is going to happen anytime soon. With unemployment being around 8%, Obamacare about to be implemented, and a larger percentage of the population relying on the government for their daily bread I am not optimistic. And with me creeping ever closer to the pasture of retirement I doubt I will see it. The government continues to borrow money we have no hope of repaying, are trying to increase taxes on the producers to a confiscatory level, and expect everything to be just hunky dory.

The answer to the title above is that charity begins at home. That means you take care of your own first. Taxes are going up next year for everyone, regardless what those liars in Washington tell you. That charity in the form of federal income tax has incurred my wrath and you can bet I will not pay one cent more than I legally have to! I am on a mission and this is an area I know something about. I will still support my church and local charities because I can see the need and see that money is not being wasted. But until I can see the government using my money in a responsible manner I have declared a war on federal income taxes! I may not win but they will know they have been in a fight!