Who will take care of the disabled and the old?

[Kiopa_Matt]

There was a sound argument, from Milton Friedman (I might be wrong) that charity resources would be better distributed without government agencies. Simply put you will see people in need around you and having more money (from paying no taxes) you and other concerned neighbors would be able to provide to the people in need directly. So there would be no money wasted by agencies and more importantly resources will go where they are really needed (unlike now - in many cases).

Not an easy topic...

Welcome to Buddhist societies. You guys may believe Thailand is a 3rd world shithole, but nobody here goes hungry. There are virtually no homeless people here at all.

For example, if someone with no money dies, no problem. Friends will volunteer, go house to house, and collect donations for his funeral and cremation. And everyone throws in what they can. Even if they don't have much to spare, they'll still chip in a few bucks. Just the way things work here.

 

[BlokBlok]

I just wanted to note this thread has had great discussion and no one was called a faggot...

Well done sirs

 

[galacon]

I just wanted to note this thread has had great discussion and no one was called a faggot...Yet.

Well done sirs

Fixed that for ya...

Nah, I'll let someone else do it

 

[Unarmed Gunman]

In a stateless society there would be no charities, because charities are a creation of the State (just like corporations). That's not to say something serving a similar purpose to a charity wouldn't be created, but there would be some key differences. Most large charities currently get the bulk of their funding from government agencies and large state sanctioned corporations or wealthy benefactors looking for tax breaks.

Granted, with no government there would be more money in people's pocket, but there would also be less incentive to give it away. I'm not here with solutions, just pointing out some logical inconsistencies. Faggots.

 

[Eves]

Other than obvious taxes (income, sales, gas, estate tax....), we are taxed through regulations which add up to more than all of this combined. Obviously this is very hard to calculate, there are many estimates, but could be up to 80%. And this is even BEFORE all the other taxes. Every product or service around us has hundreds of regulations indirectly or directly affecting it. If it wasnt for those, every dollar's purchasing power could be worth 5 times more.

As Molyneux said, if people had more money in their pocket, would they be more or less willing to give to their unfortunate friends, neighbors or family?
And as for general charities (that you would give to strangers), people in US (and elsewhere) already give so much, so it's a pretty good assumptions that they would give more if they could keep more. If they wouldnt be willing to donate to strangers then government welfare doesnt reflect the will of people anyways, and should be scrapped.

 

[SkyFire]

Who will take care of the disabled and the old?

Pretty much the same as now, private facilities, family, generous donors. The government doesn't take care of them now, so why would it really change? Shit, the gov doesn't even take care of their vets.

 

[boatBurner]

Pretty much the same as now, private facilities, family, generous donors. The government doesn't take care of them now, so why would it really change? Shit, the gov doesn't even take care of their vets.

I might be mistaken, but don't some elderly homes and mentally ill clinics receive government aid?

 

[microphone head]

Ive said this before. But think its a good example.

The city parks comission had a budget cut.

Quick scan of thread and found what I was looking for!

 

[User9364]

I just wanted to note this thread has had great discussion and no one was called a faggot...

Well done sirs

I think I'm leading that category right now. I was called "brainless" and "lazy" for understanding the difference between technology advances and resource allocation.

Though, I'm a faggot for pointing that out. Now I'm really in the lead. :evil_laughter:

 

[BabyGotBacklink]

There was a sound argument, from Milton Friedman (I might be wrong) that charity resources would be better distributed without government agencies. Simply put you will see people in need around you and having more money (from paying no taxes) you and other concerned neighbors would be able to provide to the people in need directly. So there would be no money wasted by agencies and more importantly resources will go where they are really needed (unlike now - in many cases).

Not an easy topic...

This. You would hope that people would be inspired by freedom and wealth to give to their neighbors but my experience has been that this is not always the case. I look at two very distinct societies and how they deal with their needy.

US- The government taxes it's citizens to take care of you if you are an orphan, if you are hungry, if you are disabled, if you are mentally ill, if you are elderly.... and hell if you just don't feel like working they have programs fr that too. On one hand there is a safety net for those who really need the help and on the other hand it becomes a crutch for other people that maybe could really benefit from being hungry and having to hustle.

Mexico- Very little government help. Orphanages, not great ones. I like the fact that here if you refuse to care for your elderly parents you can face criminal charges. Same goes for parents with disabled children. BUT the problem is that this creates a situation where people just abandon their elderly, mentally ill, handicapped relatives and leave them to fend for themselves. Every traffic light here has people washing windshields and/or begging: children in raggedy clothes, elderly people, amputees, blind people and on and on. The mentally ill are ever present, sleeping on the streets, wandering the city.

There is a thriving upper class here but as someone who is involved in a private charity for the homeless and mentally ill I have to say that the vast majority of people really couldn't care less. They can be dripping in jewelry, in a late model SUV, living like kings but they wave away the child beggar and step over the grandmother sleeping on the sidewalk near their home. Just my two cents but I think depending on the goodwill of humanity is going to be tough.

 

[SkyFire]

I might be mistaken, but don't some elderly homes and mentally ill clinics receive government aid?

I would imagine so, however I doubt it's a significant portion. Just guessing here, no real idea - I just know my grandparents had no government help.

My grandfather spent the last 6 months of his life fighting the TBI after he was charged with medicaid fraud for helping his patients get the care they needed, largely the elderly and the poor.