We have heard a lot about this lately. Frankly, it scares me - Happy Halloween! We spread our own wealth around. As a Latter-Day Saint, we give a minimum of 10% of our pre-tax income to the church. Ten percent is tithing and then there are additional amounts for other offerings. It probably amounts to somewhere between 12 and 15% of our income when all is said and done. But, it's never less than 10%.
My husband is a "community organizer" if that's what you want to call it - he's a Bishop who watches over a ward and devotes quite a bit of his free-time to helping others IN ADDITION to his regular job that he works at about 50 hours a week. He receives no compensation for his Bishop's duties - at least not in the form of money. But, the spiritual rewards are plentiful.
We are spreading our wealth - both spiritual and temporal - around. And, I think we are doing a pretty darn good job of managing it ourselves.
Counter this with those who think the government should be spreading my wealth around.
VP candidate, Joe Biden, has made over $2 million dollars in the last ten years and has reportedly given only $3,600 to charity. His running mate gave only about 1% of his sizeable income to charity from 2000-2004 and interestingly, kicked it up to a whopping 6% only after he decided to run for president. But, one year, he gave only .4% of his income.
Contrast this with the other candidates. John McCain has given anywhere from 18-26% of his annual income to charity over the last few years. Now, according to records I have seen, Sarah Palin isn't winning any points with God - she has donated only about 2% of her income to charity each year. Still, as a flat out dollar amount, she has still donated more than Joe Biden has in the last few years. I'm disappointed, though.
My point is that I, and most Americans, can do more with dollars we choose to donate to charity than government can with money taken from us to be given to others who did not earn it. When I donate money or goods to LDS Humanitarian Services, 100% of my donation goes to help others. The overhead to run the program is paid for by investments.
The Perpetual Education Fund has blessed the lives of countless people throughout the world. They are able to get something they could never dream of - an education - that will better their lives. That is much better than being paid to do nothing.
Even our church welfare system requires accountability. Mark has been counseled to set goals with families receiving assistance and they must be accomplishing those goals in order to keep receiving assistance. This is with the goal of quickly helping them become self-sufficient. It's tough love, but if you aren't working on and meeting the goals, you aren't going to keep getting help. As Mark often says, "These are sacred funds given by members of your ward. They are not to be wasted." Does the government EVER do this? No.
Contributing to charities - good charities with honest goals, not well-salaried leaders - is something every American should be doing. Think of all the good that could be done in the world if everyone gave 10% of their income to a good charity?
C.S. Lewis said in his book, MERE CHRISTIANITY. "I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare…If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us,… they are too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our charitable expenditures excludes them.”
My husband is a "community organizer" if that's what you want to call it - he's a Bishop who watches over a ward and devotes quite a bit of his free-time to helping others IN ADDITION to his regular job that he works at about 50 hours a week. He receives no compensation for his Bishop's duties - at least not in the form of money. But, the spiritual rewards are plentiful.
We are spreading our wealth - both spiritual and temporal - around. And, I think we are doing a pretty darn good job of managing it ourselves.
Counter this with those who think the government should be spreading my wealth around.
VP candidate, Joe Biden, has made over $2 million dollars in the last ten years and has reportedly given only $3,600 to charity. His running mate gave only about 1% of his sizeable income to charity from 2000-2004 and interestingly, kicked it up to a whopping 6% only after he decided to run for president. But, one year, he gave only .4% of his income.
Contrast this with the other candidates. John McCain has given anywhere from 18-26% of his annual income to charity over the last few years. Now, according to records I have seen, Sarah Palin isn't winning any points with God - she has donated only about 2% of her income to charity each year. Still, as a flat out dollar amount, she has still donated more than Joe Biden has in the last few years. I'm disappointed, though.
My point is that I, and most Americans, can do more with dollars we choose to donate to charity than government can with money taken from us to be given to others who did not earn it. When I donate money or goods to LDS Humanitarian Services, 100% of my donation goes to help others. The overhead to run the program is paid for by investments.
The Perpetual Education Fund has blessed the lives of countless people throughout the world. They are able to get something they could never dream of - an education - that will better their lives. That is much better than being paid to do nothing.
Even our church welfare system requires accountability. Mark has been counseled to set goals with families receiving assistance and they must be accomplishing those goals in order to keep receiving assistance. This is with the goal of quickly helping them become self-sufficient. It's tough love, but if you aren't working on and meeting the goals, you aren't going to keep getting help. As Mark often says, "These are sacred funds given by members of your ward. They are not to be wasted." Does the government EVER do this? No.
Contributing to charities - good charities with honest goals, not well-salaried leaders - is something every American should be doing. Think of all the good that could be done in the world if everyone gave 10% of their income to a good charity?
C.S. Lewis said in his book, MERE CHRISTIANITY. "I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare…If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us,… they are too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our charitable expenditures excludes them.”
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