Crowding Out Charity

"Protect the helpless. And then maybe one day, when I am helpless, you will come and protect me."
--King Baldwin IV (Kingdom of Heaven)

Prof Williams observes that the welfare state crowds out charity. Prior to the inception of the US welfare state, Americans generously gave time and money to help the needy. De Toqueville was impressed at the extent to which US citizens voluntarily organized associations aimed at serving the public good and improving human lives. Families were tight and often lived in multi-generational households as children with kids of their own felt obligated to take care of aging parents.

Since the welfare state was instituted, sense of voluntary obligation associated with charity has declined. Young separate from old as there is belief that the state will take care of the aged. Associations to help the needy have given way to government agencies. Rather than being grateful, recipients of state-provided 'charity' are often arrogant and hostile toward 'donors' (taxpayers), particularly if they suspect that their resource flows will be cut.

That US voluntary giving statistics continue to indicate high levels of generosity compared to people in other countries provides a sense of the charitable capacity of the American people. Unfortunately, decades lost to welfare statism has hampered that capacity--particularly in terms of charitable entrepreneurship and innovation.

We would be much farther ahead if charitable resources were exclusively back in the hands of individuals.