Whose job is it to care for the poor? Is it the “government’s” or yours and mine as individuals? I would argue for the latter. Let me explain. Milton Friedman, the late, great, economist once explained that if he saw a person in need and then reached into his own pocket, took out a twenty dollar bill and gave it to him, something very good had been done.

If instead, he saw someone in need and then reached into your pocket and took out a twenty dollar bill and gave it to him, something very bad had been done. I couldn’t agree more. The needs of the individual have been met, but at what cost to society?

I would argue that rather than learning appreciation for the individual who gives of his own generosity, and perhaps fostering a personal relationship that may benefit both the giver and the recipient, the one in need learns entitlement from an impersonal check that comes in the mail. The giver hates being taxed disproportionately and the recipient learns dependence and trust in a dying cashcow. This results in class warfare as we see more and more today.

Let’s you and I pledge to do our best to see the needs of the poor, generously donate our time and monies to those individuals who demonstrate need rather than laziness–I know that this takes careful discernment, and change this national trend of stealing from those that have and giving it to those that just want it. Our nation will be much better for it.