Ed Rutledge for Lieutenant Governor

By Ed Rutledge

Libertarian for Lieutenant Governor of Illinois

09/29/2010

I recently heard that “Libertarians want to get rid of not-for-profits.” In fact, nothing could be farther from the truth. While Libertarians are strong proponents of charity, there continue to be lingering misperceptions. Below are my responses to a handful of similar comments that I have overheard over the past few months.

“Libertarians want to drive charities out of business by cutting off state funds”

Consider where the state gets those funds to give to those charities. That money comes from you, and others in your community. The state, however, has decided that it can better decide how to be charitable than you, so it forcibly takes money out of your pockets through taxes and gives your money to the charities that the politicians feel are most worthy.

But what if those politicians choose to fund charities that represent ideas that you fundamentally disagree with? Too bad. What if those charities are 80% overhead and 20% useful? Too bad. What if you really wanted to donate your money to your favorite cause, and now you don’t have the money to do so? Too bad. What if those charities are nothing more than shell organizations used to funnel taxpayer money into the pockets of political cronies? Too bad. They choose, and you pay.

Just as I do not have the right to force you to fund charities that support my beliefs, neither do I have the right to use government to force you to fund my favorite charities. Libertarians have a problem with the state’s funding of charities because, sooner or later, the politicians will send your money to programs that you abhor. Remember, they are politicians. Bureaucrats in Springfield and in Washington don’t know what causes are important to you. Only you do. But those bureaucrats sure know what is important to them. Libertarians would rather leave your money in your pocket so that you can be generous in your own way.

“Libertarians do not care about others”

In reality, Libertarians simply do not believe that you can outsource compassion for others. Libertarians believe that we all have a personal obligation to help those around us, and Libertarians take this obligation seriously. But Libertarians would never want to hand that responsibility to bureaucrats hundreds or thousands of miles away. Who do you trust more, your neighbors or politicians? If you want to help people around you, then you should do so. But using government to force anyone to give to a particular charity is a very dangerous concept. If you are a Democrat, think about giving Bush this power. If you are a Republican, think about giving Obama this power. Libertarians see the inherent danger in this, and would rather let you keep that power, and this responsibility, in your own hands.

“Libertarians want to get rid of not-for-profits”

This gets us to the comment posed earlier. Not-for-profits form the backbone of our society’s charitable structure, and Libertarians have no interest in tearing them down. In fact, Libertarians applaud any private group that seeks to help others, and we would encourage you to give to those charities that support causes near and dear to your heart. To this end, Libertarians would increase tax credits for charitable giving. Libertarians would reduce the red tape that charities currently struggle with, to make them more efficient. Libertarians would make it as easy as possible for charities to help others. And Libertarians would let you keep more of your money so that you can support your favorite non-for-profits.

Charity starts at home, not in an office building filled with political appointees and bureaucrats, and compassion that is not voluntary is not compassion at all. Libertarians simply want to make it easier for you to be compassionate.

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