Wouldn't it be nice...
Jan. 11th, 2005 11:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nowalmartSo there was a huge disaster in the countries surrounding the Indian Ocean. Tens of thousands of people, if not hundreds of thousands of people, died and will die due to a natural disaster.
People are giving millions of dollars to organizations like the Red Cross and Doctors without Borders. I applaud these efforts. The President of the United States, has enlisted two former Presidents, George Bush and Bill Clinton, to help raise money for the relief efforts.
It would make so much sense if there was a very organized body that would collect money from everyone and then make informed decisions of what to do with the money. This organization would collect money from everyone and then donate it to worthy organizations, and do worthy things with the money. In fact, it would be even better if the collections were done straight from everyone's paychecks. Better yet, make it pre-tax. We could do it based on how much money you made each year, so poor people would not be expected to donate as much as a wealthy person.
As citizens we would feel good even if we did not donate to the Red Cross. We could honestly say "I gave at work, through my paycheck." The donations would be made on behalf of all Americans, and would show that we, as a nation, cared. It would show that we had the foresight to put aside money and people to deal with things on a city, state, and country-wide basis. We would share, as a country, the wealth that we had produced.
We could nominate and choose people who we think would be responsible for that money and make intelligent decisions on what to do with it. They would impose good budgetary practices so they would not take too much, but make sure they had enough to make a very generous donation when something like the tsunami hit. They would not waste the money, and only use it in very necessary times.
If we had such an organization, George W. Bush would not have to ask for private contributions. He would not have to enlist two former Presidents to raise money for private organizations to help. He would just have to turn to this national organization and ask that we send enough money to the countries in their time of most need...
That would be nice...
People are giving millions of dollars to organizations like the Red Cross and Doctors without Borders. I applaud these efforts. The President of the United States, has enlisted two former Presidents, George Bush and Bill Clinton, to help raise money for the relief efforts.
It would make so much sense if there was a very organized body that would collect money from everyone and then make informed decisions of what to do with the money. This organization would collect money from everyone and then donate it to worthy organizations, and do worthy things with the money. In fact, it would be even better if the collections were done straight from everyone's paychecks. Better yet, make it pre-tax. We could do it based on how much money you made each year, so poor people would not be expected to donate as much as a wealthy person.
As citizens we would feel good even if we did not donate to the Red Cross. We could honestly say "I gave at work, through my paycheck." The donations would be made on behalf of all Americans, and would show that we, as a nation, cared. It would show that we had the foresight to put aside money and people to deal with things on a city, state, and country-wide basis. We would share, as a country, the wealth that we had produced.
We could nominate and choose people who we think would be responsible for that money and make intelligent decisions on what to do with it. They would impose good budgetary practices so they would not take too much, but make sure they had enough to make a very generous donation when something like the tsunami hit. They would not waste the money, and only use it in very necessary times.
If we had such an organization, George W. Bush would not have to ask for private contributions. He would not have to enlist two former Presidents to raise money for private organizations to help. He would just have to turn to this national organization and ask that we send enough money to the countries in their time of most need...
That would be nice...
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no subject
Date: 2005-01-12 12:52 pm (UTC)I also think it would be nice if Bush saw fit to commit even as much as a decent percentage of what is spent on the war.
"The west's crusaders, the United States and Britain, are giving less to help the tsunami victims than the cost of a Stealth bomber or a week's bloody occupation of Iraq. The bill for George Bush's coming inauguration party would rebuild much of the coastline of Sri Lanka. Bush and Blair increased their first driblets of "aid" only when it became clear that people all over the world were spontaneously giving millions and that a public relations problem beckoned. The Blair government's current "generous" contribution is one-sixteenth of the £800m it spent on bombing Iraq before the invasion and barely one-twentieth of a £1bn gift, known as a soft loan, to the Indonesian military so that it could acquire Hawk fighter-bombers." The Other Tsunami by John Pilger, The New Statesman, 10 January 2005 Issue
:(
no subject
Date: 2005-01-12 02:43 pm (UTC)That's cool.
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Date: 2005-01-12 04:17 pm (UTC)srl
Seen elsewhere. Even if you're not vegan, Grasshopper makes very very tasty food. This is totally worth it for the food, and it's a good cause.
The all-vegan Grasshopper Restaurant is holding an all-day eat-in to benefit the American Red Cross fund for Tsunami Disaster Relief.
On Wed. Jan. 12, from 11am to 10pm, the restaurant will be hosting an all-you-can-eat vegan buffet. For just $20, you can gorge yourself on appetizers, soups, entrees, salad and fresh melons. All food is donated, and the staff are working without pay for the day. 100% of all proceeds will go to the American Red Cross fund for Tsunami Disaster Relief.
Where: Grasshopper Restaurant, 1 N. Beacon Street (Union Square), Allston
Tel: 617-254-8883
The restaurant specializes in Vietnamese and Chinese cuisine.
no subject
Date: 2005-01-12 04:20 pm (UTC)And, sadly, I can't get to Allston in the middle of the day :-(
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Date: 2005-01-12 03:30 pm (UTC)this is america. we wash ourselves in greed and feed ourselves with a feeling of victimism.
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Date: 2005-01-12 04:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-01-12 04:46 pm (UTC)especially under certain figure heads...
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Date: 2005-01-12 04:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-01-13 08:35 pm (UTC)better yet: how 'bout we fix our own corruption before planting it elsewhere?