Rejecting Charity
Nicholas Kristof claims that liberals are stingy, citing research showing that conservatives donate more to charities than liberals. But these findings do not surprise me at all. I am a liberal and favor broad government investment in public services (and not just for the needy, but for all of society). And I rarely contribute to charities. Why? Because the vast majority of charities are organized around narrow, single-issue agendas. By giving money to charities we encourage a piecemeal approach to solving problems that are better solved through an integrated approach. We also risk allocating funds on the basis of what issues arouse the most emotion rather than what projects could do the most good. Furthermore, charities are rarely transparent and tend to be run by people with specific ideological goals. I believe it is far better to take the money that would otherwise be spent on charity and give it to the government as taxes, and then to demand transparency and accountability from our elected officials to ensure that those taxes are being used in a way that realizes the kind of society we collectively envision. Social entrepreneurship is another non-charity option that may be more palatable to those who still believe the market knows best. I believe both approaches are probably needed, and both are preferable to the charity system which has failed to provide a social safety net despite conservative enthusiasm.