Private Disaster Relief Leaned On As Govt Fails US
- Author: Chris Remington
- Posted: 2024-08-31
Earlier this week, the Internet news sites were inundated with calls for charitable donations. Kansas, Texas, California, and other states all faced their own disasters. Perhaps as a very telling and eerie sign of the times, however, no one involved was calling on the federal government's assistance. It's almost as if they knew that help would not be coming from this administration, as it works to give Ukraine another $33 billion. Instead, the calls for help were sent out to private citizens, who were asked to donate to private charities. Articles ranging from how to help set up disaster relief charities to advice on how to donate flooded sites like Bing, MSN and Yahoo! News. The bottom line here is that the current administration heading the federal government has failed miserably at helping the American people in their time of need.
Perhaps you like Joe Biden and think that he's an excellent President, especially compared to that former guy. Maybe you believe the numbers about unemployment. That's fine. In America, everyone is perfectly entitled to their own political opinions. Though it is an undeniable fact that the Biden administration has basically ignored disasters that have happened in America. Tornadoes ravage entire communities, and Biden steps out onto stage the same day to give a speech about how "White supremacy" is responsible for African Americans attacking Asians in San Francisco. This is not a fiction; this really happened. And it has really woke a lot of people up to the fact that their own government cares very little about aiding in disaster relief. Private charities seem to be carrying the full weight.
What's a Few Hundred Billion Dollars?
As of the end of March, 2022, the United States' federal government had given $13.8 billion to Ukraine. How much did they give to American disaster victims? Not a single penny more than the budget allotments for the federal disaster relief bodies. FEMA, for instance, has an operating budget for 2022 of $28 billion. Though it might surprise you to learn that nearly half of that money is to fight "climate change," which is a way of saying that no one really knows where that money ends up. And instead of the current administration offering more for American disasters, it's giving another $33 billion to Ukraine.
But what's a few hundred billion here and there when you print trillions a year?
The Coin Flip of Private Charities
Of course, when donating money to a private charity, you never really quite know if the money is going where you were promised it would. Some very famous examples exist of charity fraud, and rarely is it punished when it's a high-profile person or group. For instance, hundreds of millions of dollars came up missing from the Clinton Foundation, who raised money for the victims of a horrible earthquake in Haiti. People threw money at the Clintons, but the money never made it to the people. Some money was given to a corrupt leader in Haiti, who then fled, and the rest is simply unaccounted for. Though since it's the Clinton family, nothing really came of it, and you're a "deplorable" for inquiring about it. A member of the famous hip-hop band The Fugees, Wyclef Jean, was also involved in a charity scheme that stole money from Haiti.
These stories are a dime a dozen, unfortunately. So many unscrupulous people use these disasters and the misfortune of others to enrich themselves. It really is a shame, but in a way it works out better for those of you who are vigilant in your donations. It means you're going to look even more closely at these charities, and thus you're far more likely to make an impact in people's lives by donating only to legitimate private charities that help people during their time of need.
For a lot of people out there, they expect the government to do more. After all, the government taxes people excessively. There are fuel taxes, property taxes, income taxes, wealth taxes, gains taxes, death taxes, and many more. So, a lot of people ask the question: When is the government going to use American tax dollars for disasters in America instead of overseas wars? There is no simple answer to that question; though the most obvious would be to point out that Lockheed Martin and other huge contractors cannot profit and kick-back money when dealing with tornadoes, hurricanes and earthquakes, so you shouldn't expect the government to step up its domestic relief game any time soon.
Private charities are going to become a lot more important going forward. If you choose to help out, make sure you do your research and find a good one.
