I have a real problem giving tax money to religious organizations. There is
a constitutional boundary that gets crossed when the government and
religious groups get tied up together. I don't even believe in giving tax
advantage to churches etc. since doing so allows a government agency (IRS)
to determine what is a legitimate religion and what isn't ("Congress shall
make no law respecting an establishment of religion...) Non-profits set up
by religious organizations is a half-step away, so I don't have as much of a
problem as long as no faith-based discrimination is involved (ie Boy Scouts
and atheist kids) and all otherwise appropriate accounting and auditing
requirements are complied with. Organizations like Catholic Charities have
an amazing track record of success, with surprisingly low admin costs: more
money goes to fix the problem.
As far as how to determine which organization is best suited, I would
advocate for an RFP process following a stringent analysis of the problem
and acceptable solutions that could be implemented to mitigate it.
Interested organizations include their proposal as part of the grant
application.
-----Original Message-----
From: David [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Thursday, July 03, 2008 12:02 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [ot_caving] Senator Obama and politics
I would like to talk about Obama's proposal to
use religious groups to receive federal grants to
do community projects.
Let's suppose there is a neighborhood street covered
in grafitti and trash and it will cost a volunteer organization
$ 100,000 to clean it and maintain it clean for a year or
so.
Let's say 10 different organizations bid for the grant.
1. Nation of Islam ( Farrakan )
2. The Quantell X Club.
3. The Mormons
4. The Baptist
5. The Methodist
6. The Atheist
7. The Catholics
8. The Hell's Angels
9. The Rainbow nudist hippies
10. The Boy Scouts
etc.
How much money and time is the government going to waste
to determine who is best suited for receiving the grant. What
kind of corruption will take place. Who is going to check to make
sure everything was cleaned up and accounting was done properly.
Meanwhile the street just gets more filthy.
I don't think his idea is any good.
Can somebody out there convince me otherwise?
David
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