Oddbean new post about | logout
 Welfare Outside of the State
https://mises.org/mises-wire/welfare-outside-state

By Rowan Parchi
> Welfare is usually seen as state-run activity. Yet, as Mises and others have noted, state-sponsored welfare undermines the economy and expands government power. Private charity is the only system that is sustainable and just. 
 When private individuals see a need and donate their hard earned money, they are blessed by helping someone and the recipient is grateful that someone cares enough to share their hard earned money.

When the government does charity, the people whose money is stolen are upset and the people who receive handouts think it is owed to them and therefore are more likely to complain that they didn't get enough.  Other people use fraud to get freebies.  The bureaucrats that are stealing from the workers and taking their cut, treat the workers (tax payers) as ungrateful and those receiving the handouts as people to push around.  Everyone loses and time & wealth are wasted.