[ianlippert]

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I've got a better explanation. People feel like they are evil if they arent helping the poor so they offload the responsibility to a third party to deal with their anxiety, they dont actually care if the poor get helped. Much like the fatties who buy extra light food products but eat a million calories a day.

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Sound like government is doing it's job perfectly then!


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No, the point is that people feel like they are helping the poor but they think there job ends once the issue is not their responsibility. The government is the worst possible solution for poverty because not only is the government not helping poor people (and in many cases its destroying the few opportunities the poor have) the people that would help the poor now think the problem is being dealt with. So the poor are now trapped in this situation where they get no help and nobody knows about it.

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If people are forced to live everyday with the fact that they are immoral people for not helping the poor they will take the time to send money to some causes. Nowadays all it takes is a couple of clicks.

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I have no idea what this last sentence is even a reference to. Spending money takes no time, and can easily be accomplished with just a couple of clicks. Spending money in the right way can go a long way to solving poverty.

Unsurprisingly, the first sentence is a direct contradiction of the previous sentence that you posted. If all people care about is ridding themselves of their anxiety, they wouldn't take any time to do anything. Which is it?



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Sorry it was probably a convoluted way of explaining it. If there is no government people are faced with the fact that they arent doing anything to help the poor. If there is no government solution to help the poor they are going to have to face up to their guilt and actually help the poor themselves. And I dont think that everyone that helps the poor does it simply for selfish reasons but a lot of people do.

The reference of clicks was to the idea that you can donate money online.

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The tragedy is when people reach for the charity light without dealing with the fundamental issues of poverty. People think they are helping the poor, but the government is not actually helping the poor to the extent that it could be. In this situation the poor are simply exploited on all sides and never get helped. A truly sick situation.

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Yes, which is why in addition to yapping about theoretical positions on government on the interwebs, I try to spread information about productive charities and about how much OUR government is no good.

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But if the majority are satisfied with feeling like they are helping the poor, the people that really care are forced to fund the same institution. I think once the government stops the negative things it does to the poor, poverty is a very small problem. Theres more than enough people who truly care about the poor that will take care of them.