In the past couple of months, I’ve seen an emergence of new
thought in regards to compassionate conservatism. I first saw this new approach
a few months ago in advertisement for a website called “Values and Capitalism”.
I couldn’t resist clicking through the link. At first I dismissed it as a ploy
by the free-market think tank American Enterprise Institute but with the rise
of Rick Santorum, the idea is starting to pick up steam.
Santorum touts himself as religious man and a compassionate
conservative but doesn’t exactly line up with his predecessor Bush Jr. Instead
of promoting social programs like PEPFAR or No Child Left Behind, Santorum proposes
that churches and charities do the work, that we should cut the government
intervention and allow churches and non-profits the space to work.
This was a similar idea I had many years ago but now
spending the past 8 years doing work related to poverty, I will admit this idea
was a bit naïve.
Unfortunately the church or non-profits are in no place to
pick up the slack of the hurting social scene. I don’t know the numbers domestically
but charities provide only 4% of aid internationally. I would imagine it being
very similar domestically.
I want to believe in the church and that it will rise to the
occasion but I just don’t see any signs of it. On average, churches keep over
90% of the money they bring in inside the walls of the church.
Some have said, oh when things get bad enough, the church
will step up. A recent report in the United States found that 30% of children
in America are in poverty. When will it get bad enough to act?
With all that said, there are many things that more free
markets could benefit those in poverty. The Farm Bill protects large American “farmers”
while distorting food markets overseas making it harder to compete with
American subsidies. Aid programs can learn from the free market. Groups like Toms,
who does “shoe drops” distorts shoe markets in the area they are giving out
shoes, usually taking jobs away from shoe makers, sellers and transporters. Micro-finance
has exploded onto the scene in the last 10 years, creating a more even playing field
for millions, allowing them to get decent credit in unbalanced markets.
All in all, we are at an interesting time in politics. Although
I disagree with this libertarian hands off, let churches and NGOs take care of
things, there are many things to learn from this approach. Neither side is
right or wrong and if we actually came together (i.e. Farm Bill), putting
people before politics, we might be able to help a lot of folks at the stroke
of a pen.
