Government Misuse Of Tax Dollars by Robert Socha

“For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor.” Matthew 26:9

In the days before Jesus’ crucifixion in our stead, a woman came to Jesus and poured a flask of expensive ointment on his head, symbolically preparing him for burial. The disciples, incredulous toward the apparent waste and wanting to appear righteous, rebuked the lavish display.

Similarly, wanting to appear righteous, today, hard-earned tax dollars are given to the poor through myriad federal and state programs. The consequence of this largess is catastrophic, resulting in an apathetic workforce and rampant homelessness. Additionally, these programs increase the tax burden to such an unmanageable level that people responsible for paying those taxes revolt. Their justified anger is directed towards the lowest-hanging fruit, such as local incentives to spur growth, ignoring the culprits in our state and federal legislatures. The ire is well-meaning yet misdirected.

For generations, we have been selling alabaster jars full of the ointments of hope and prosperity, thinly dividing the spoils among the many, creating generational dependency instead of breaking those jars and anointing the heads of the people with hope’s fragrance. The appearance of such programs is one of benevolence and compassion, but it is truly evil in its pernicious enslavement of those who accept the wiles and in the confiscation of others’ earnings in the funding.

The government is not and should not be compassionate. It is an ambivalent tool whose ever-increasing programs manipulate public trust to secure votes. On the other hand, the bureaucratic growth has morphed into a Goliath, whose sus will be difficult to penetrate and next to impossible to eradicate. The coddled masses are not invigorated to pursue the American Dream and instead lie in their subsidized homes, complaining about the life they could have had.

Unfortunately, the system works presently through crony capitalist funding for projects to be viable. The ever-increasing handouts and stipulations to provide for daily necessities are not easily modified in their reduction. Austerity is never easy or pleasant. The solution lies in philanthropy and Christian charity. It does not lie in unsustainable government programs that have built so many bureaucratic layers at the taxpayer’s expense that it is hard to know what is going where and how to bring it under control.

Schools and poorhouses should be funded at the local level through philanthropic efforts by compelling our neighbors to give as they are willing and able for the betterment of the community. Capital investments should be funded through the private sector with the hope of profit for all parties involved. These ideals will not soon be implemented, for we have grown accustomed and complacent in our spending patterns and have not yet garnered the political will for change. Until strong men push against the goads and compel change, we must remember that Jesus reminds us the poor will always be with us, and we must remain faithful until He comes.