4 ms·

I would gladly pay higher taxes if the money were spent on homelessness or education or healthcare instead of the military.

tracer4201 8y ago
Bingo.
BlueJacketPig 8y ago
Why wait for the government to get its act together? Why aren't you spending your own money on those things right now? Pick your favorite organization and write a check. Or, even better, get involved and give money directly to those in need.
- KirinDave 8y ago
  Because unless everyone simultaneously acts with coordination, these problems are too big and complex to address without some kind of coordination. Even if that coordination is decentralized, it has a cost. Weirdly, no one ever donates to "coordination of cancer fund collection."
  - xaqfox 8y ago
    "Weirdly, no one ever donates to 'coordination of cancer fund collection.'" What do you think the American Cancer Society does?
    - KirinDave 8y ago
      Waste most of their donations on scandalous compensation of leadership to solicit high-end donations to continue said cycle.
- krageon 8y ago
  I can imagine that people would be in a similar boat that I am in: I am charitable, I enjoy giving time and effort to good causes that directly help people (eg volunteer work in orphanages, feeding the poor). When I want to donate money (I am in a position to do that far more than I do currently), I am left with the insight that actually there is no charity that isn't evil in some way. Examples of evil include very high CEO/upper management salaries, stuff like "fundraisers", performing acts of charity that sound good but actually do nothing (or actively harm), etc. Every time I come to the conclusion that it's easy to do good, but practically impossible to donate to something good in an effective way. With the way my life has been progressing and how I suspect a lot of people's lives progress as they age (less free time, more relative income) this effectively means that charity stops out of necessity as time goes on. I would love to have a solution to this, as it does bother me.
rwilson4 8y ago
I do donate to homeless shelters and cancer research foundations, and I hope other people are also donating to causes important to them! But I don’t have enough money to make a dent in the problem. Collective action is the only way to make progress.
BadassFractal 8y ago
It has worked so well for San Francisco, we should sink more money into it.

tracer4201 8y ago

Bingo.

BlueJacketPig 8y ago

Why wait for the government to get its act together? Why aren't you spending your own money on those things right now? Pick your favorite organization and write a check. Or, even better, get involved and give money directly to those in need.

KirinDave 8y ago
Because unless everyone simultaneously acts with coordination, these problems are too big and complex to address without some kind of coordination. Even if that coordination is decentralized, it has a cost. Weirdly, no one ever donates to "coordination of cancer fund collection."
- xaqfox 8y ago
  "Weirdly, no one ever donates to 'coordination of cancer fund collection.'" What do you think the American Cancer Society does?
  - KirinDave 8y ago
    Waste most of their donations on scandalous compensation of leadership to solicit high-end donations to continue said cycle.
krageon 8y ago
I can imagine that people would be in a similar boat that I am in: I am charitable, I enjoy giving time and effort to good causes that directly help people (eg volunteer work in orphanages, feeding the poor). When I want to donate money (I am in a position to do that far more than I do currently), I am left with the insight that actually there is no charity that isn't evil in some way. Examples of evil include very high CEO/upper management salaries, stuff like "fundraisers", performing acts of charity that sound good but actually do nothing (or actively harm), etc. Every time I come to the conclusion that it's easy to do good, but practically impossible to donate to something good in an effective way. With the way my life has been progressing and how I suspect a lot of people's lives progress as they age (less free time, more relative income) this effectively means that charity stops out of necessity as time goes on. I would love to have a solution to this, as it does bother me.

rwilson4 8y ago

I do donate to homeless shelters and cancer research foundations, and I hope other people are also donating to causes important to them! But I don’t have enough money to make a dent in the problem. Collective action is the only way to make progress.

BadassFractal 8y ago

It has worked so well for San Francisco, we should sink more money into it.