No that's not what he's saying at all.

Think about it....the very fact that our democracy votes to help the poor PROVES that we would help the poor without being forced to.

Why not trust people to do the right thing? Why the need to control charity?

I dunno. Why not trust the people to do everything else that's done with our tax dollars?


Remind me again what planet you are living on, among what species?

Clearly.

Can someone explain to me the hysteria I see on so many boards (this included) these days with right-wing folks shrieking socialism and wearing communist symbols and such? I'm serious. Did I miss the revolution?

It's a tough call for them, as it is for many of us. I don't like the level of socialism needed to prop up failed capitalism, but the only other option seems to be immediate national financial collapse (instead of eventual national financial collapse).

Not very.

People vote to help the poor when they know that everyone else will have to contribute as well. People are willing to spend from the collective pocketbook to help the poor. This most decidedly does NOT prove that people, left to their own devices as individuals, would continue to do so. In fact, I think it rather more likely that as individuals people would brush it aside as Someone Else's Problem.

Exactly! The sig line I had recently sums it up perfectly for me:

“I like paying taxes. With them I buy civilization.” - Oliver Wendell Holmes


I think that many people that object to tax money going to help the disadvantaged just plain don't give a rat's ass about their fellow humans. They're selfish and self centered.

This is where it should be pointed out that studies show that self identified conservatives on average give more in direct charitable donations than liberals.

Which I attribute to the fact (well, heheh, my assumed fact) that conservatives are, almost by definition, generally far more wealthy than liberals.