Category Archives: Libertarian opinion

Public privacy?

The Atlanta Journal recently reported on plans to increase video surveillance in downtown Atlanta. This was quickly decried as an ever-greater violation of our privacy. That viewpoint rests on a faulty assumption, namely that our right to privacy extends into the public arena. In short, there is no privacy for public actions, only private actions.

The right to privacy is a natural right and as with all natural rights we must act in order to secure this right. Just as we work to secure our right to life, so must we work to provide ourselves with the tools that secure our right to privacy (e.g. shelter and clothing). Once these tools are secured, we have established our private-public boundary. Any uninvited breach (e.g. trespass, eavesdropping, thermal imaging, “peeping”, personal searching, etc.) of that boundary is a violation of our right to privacy.

Once we exit the private realm and enter the public arena there is no longer a boundary (other than clothing) that can be breached. There is no reasonable expectation that we will not be observed or if we are, that it is incumbent upon any observer to cease such observation. Natural rights cannot obligate others to act in order for us to secure our rights. For example, the right to life is sustained by inaction of others (i.e. not killing us). Conversely the right to life cannot obligate others to act unwillingly on our behalf (i.e. provide us with food without anything in return). In the same way, a demand for “privacy” when in public would obligate others to act (e.g. cover their eyes and ears). No person has the right to forcefully obligate another to act on their behalf.

So, if it is unreasonable to expect people to shield their senses from us when we are in public, then: Is it ok for a person to observe another person in public? Is it ok for a person to draw what they publicly observe? Is it ok for a person to more efficiently draw what they publicly observe (e.g. use a camera)? Yes to all, but at this point some might hesitate and suggest permission is required or even “no”. But why? It is an emotional response, as there is no logical difference between observing and drawing versus observing and snapping a photo. The latter is merely a more efficient tool to accomplish the former. I can dig a hole with my hands or with a backhoe. The backhoe is a whole lot more efficient, but both processes are still the same: digging.

Public cameras are merely tools that facilitate that which is unobjectionable (a cop standing on a street corner watching people) to be more efficiently accomplished. Legitimate concerns have been raised that public cameras are wasteful because they don’t accomplish the desired goal in a monetarily efficient manner. Also abuse such as stoplight camera “gaming” (adjusting yellow light duration) is common. Inefficiency and abuse are valid reasons to object to such monitoring, but privacy concerns are not. If our laws only protected natural rights rather than trying to legislate behavior there would be little objection to such monitoring. Absent abuses of power or waste, we should be more concerned with the nature of the laws rather than the method of their enforcement.

 

Privatize Regulation and Relief

The mainstream media misunderstands the role of the federal government as outlined in the US Constitution. They routinely ask questions to the libertarian leaning Republican candidates (Ron Paul, Gary Johnson) that betray this ignorance. For example, of the seven questions MSNBC asked Ron Paul at the last debate (Sept 7, 2011) four of them focused on this.

The questions presuppose that we need the federal government to provide a cornucopia of services that (mistakenly believed) the private sector could not provide. The underlying accusation in these questions is that if you don’t think the government should do these things then you must think no one should do these things and you are clearly a heartless SOB. To highlight the lack of imagination the questioner (Brian Williams) actually suggested that if the government did not run air traffic control then the only alternative would be that pilots would be doing it themselves in their planes! If he had employed a little investigative journalism he would have easily discovered that Canada actually privatized their air traffic control system in 1996 and has consistently received higher marks than the antiquated government run US system.

In short, the answer to this question is that just because one doesn’t believe the government should be providing a particular service doesn’t mean it should not be done. There is NOTHING that the government does that the private sector can’t do better. Not because somehow the individuals in the private sector are somehow magically smarter and better people. Rather because the private sector is constantly receiving feedback through the profit/loss system. Companies that provide things their customers want receive money and stay in business, companies that don’t lose money and go out of business. What remains are those companies best suited to provide the service. Government has no such feedback; failure is simply an excuse to ask for more money since obviously the failure was entirely due to a lack of money.

For those that believe “some things are just too important to let the private sector run them” and that therefore government must run them, then ask yourselves this: Why doesn’t the government nationalize our food industry? Why aren’t all farms and food processing and distribution government run? Why isn’t food allocated “equally” to local government grocery stores with “fair” prices? Surely food, that product without which we would all die, is important enough that we couldn’t possibly trust the market to handle it? Yes, government does stick its nose into agriculture quite a bit but certainly nothing on the scale of a nationalized government run monopoly of food distribution. Yet somehow the market, with no central planner, is able to magically make food available to everyone in this country. So if we allow the market to handle food (the most important of all goods), why then are we not willing to allow the market to handle other goods, such as education? Retirement? Air traffic control? Health insurance? Product regulations?

But what about drug safety, surely we need the government to handle this? No, we don’t need a monopoly on drug safety. We need several “FDAs” competing with each other. Those that do a good job evaluating drug safety and efficacy will stay in business, and the ones that do a poor job (like the FDA that approved drugs that killed people, but for which they have no accountability) would go out of business. How would this work? We already have an existing model: Underwriters Laboratory. UL is a private organization that is not affiliated with any government. The UL inspired private regulation model is simple and works with any product or service. Here’s how:

Companies sell products. The products might cause harm so companies buy insurance. Insurance companies want to ensure against losses so they require companies be certified by a private certifying agency. If the certifying agency does a good job (preventing damaging products) they make money. The insurer is happy because they aren’t paying out claims. The company is happy because they aren’t getting sued. If the certifying agency does a poor job (allowing damaging products to be sold) then the insurer has to pay claims and the company is sued. That agency goes out of business because no one wants to use them anymore. The good agencies remain, the bad ones go away. It is a positive feedback loop of ever improving self-imposed regulations.

What about national disaster relief? Even easier – ever hear of the Red Cross? I think Ron Paul said it best – “What happened before 1979? We didn’t have FEMA.” Before 1979 did people just lay down and die because there was no federal aid? No, organizations like the Red Cross provided assistance as well as local groups that know their areas much better than the feds. FEMA has created a moral hazard that provides an incentive for people to not take responsibility for themselves (i.e. not buying flood insurance, building fancy homes on hurricane prone beaches, etc.). Private organizations like the Red Cross have a vested interest in seeing their efforts only go toward those that truly need help as they must answer to their donators. Donators don’t want to see their money wasted or swindled away as has happened with FEMA. Unhappy donators = no donations. FEMA answers to no one (or rather it answers only to a bloated government bureaucracy that can’t keep track of the waste, fraud and abuse).

We who believe in liberty of the individual are sympathetic towards our fellow man. We recognize the need for oversight of goods and services. We simply do not accept the proposition that government is the only way to provide such relief or oversight. We think it is the least efficient way to do so. The private market is more efficient due to inherent incentives that provide continuous positive feedback.

Privatize Marriage

The right of association is the right to associate with whomever and for whatever reason we please. We can form businesses, churches, private clubs, unions, or a family. Although the US Constitution does not specify this right (the EU and Canadian ones do) I would like to believe all reasonable people would agree we have a right to associate with whomever we please. Oddly enough this “ignored” right still exists today. A man and a woman can live together as can two men or two women or a man and several women. Some may frown upon these associations but there are no laws prohibiting them. So if people can be with whomever they want, then what is the issue concerning non-traditional marriage? The issue is free speech.

Think of it like this: (1) Is it ok to associate with one or more persons? YES (2) Is it ok to publicly proclaim such an association? NO, or rather, it depends. This is true for marriage as well as for other associations. For example, a business can legally announce that it exists (incorporate) only if the business fits into a predefined pigeonhole established by the government (e.g. C-Corp, LLC, etc). Any other structure is “illegal”. Likewise for marriage.

When a couple marries they are saying to the world: “We publicly proclaim that we bind ourselves together and establish mutually beneficial rights and responsibilities – we no longer wish to be in a transient relationship but rather a responsible and enduring one”. The odd thing is that when government definitions of “permissible” associations ignore non-traditional marriage the message is: “Although you are attempting to enter in a mature and responsible relationship, we would prefer you keep it to yourselves and continue living in a manner consistent with a lack of commitment and responsibility.” In other words, attempting to engage in responsible behavior is ignored. Not permitting such public proclamation of the relationship is a restriction of free speech and clearly violates the 1st Amendment.

If people want to associate (marry) that is their right. If a church will do so, great. If it won’t, then too bad (for the couple). The government should not compel private institutions such as churches to operate contrary to their belief structure. Additionally, their right to make such a proclamation does not mean anyone is required to accept it. The lack of use of force runs both ways. I may not stop you from speaking but that doesn’t mean I have to listen or agree with you.

Shifting gears from the political to the lexicological: words mean something. Changing definitions cause confusion. Redefining “marriage” would be like redefining “cars” to encompass motorcycles because they both have wheels and an engine. If the proponents of non-traditional marriage want a word to define their relationship they would do themselves a big favor by coining a new one; I (and others) suggest “pairriage.”

Government is currently the tool that defines what associations are permissible. Each side fights over the tool in an attempt to force their point of view on everyone. The solution is to get rid of the tool. Privatize all associations and remove from government its ability to define permissible relationships.

 

Birds of a Feather

What kind of bird is the libertarian? Left-wing? Right-wing? The common misconception is that Libertarians are on the “far-right” of the political spectrum. Nothing could be further from the truth. The confusion stems from the total misuse and lack of understanding in the media of the terms “left” and “right”.

First we need to define our terms. What are we measuring? Let’s think of it like a ruler. What units would we have if the small numbers are “left” and large numbers are “right”? Units of State Control. To the left on our “control” ruler we have a value of zero, that is, a complete absence of State Control, or stated positively, it is complete liberty (from the Latin liberalis = free) for the individual arising from the condition of no outside force. So it then follows that as one moves to the right on this scale the degree of State Control increases. Thus, “extreme right” would be those societal structures employing totalitarian regimes in order to “keep the people in line” such as fascism and communism. It then follows that “extreme left” would be total anarchy. Libertarians thus naturally fall on the far (not extreme) left end of the spectrum because we respect the natural rights (life, liberty, pursuit of happiness) of the individual and reject the notion that the State can ever have a compelling interest to use force against the individual other than in preventing violations of natural rights. There are libertarians that use the term “anarchist” in various forms (min-archist, anarcho-capitalist, etc.) when describing themselves and so there are shades of respectful disagreement of opinion among libertarians (as with any human group) to the degree of which government should be permitted to exercise force; but make no mistake, there are no libertarians that would advocate complete anarchy, as that would by definition imply a lawless, consequence free society in which natural rights were ignored.

Where do Democrats and Republicans fall? Well, I have oversimplified things a bit. There is not a single scale by which to measure a society. Rather, there is a single scale (ruler) that you apply to multiple societal issues: work, welfare, abortion, marriage, drugs, schools, etc. A society’s degree of freedom can then be measured roughly by taking the value of all sliders in aggregate. On some issues Democrats are to the left (marriage) and on some to the right (welfare), whereas Republicans are on the left (welfare) and on some to the right (marriage). But both are to the right when it comes to Big Government, because Big Government allows “…the majority to embody their opinions in law.” * But, whenever their goals are in conflict they feign revulsion over “big government” and talk of limiting it. Of course this is only a tactic to limit their opponent’s ability to implement something they don’t agree with.

Since Libertarians never advocate state control (except when protecting natural rights), you will always find them on the left side of the slide rule for any given issue.

* Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., Lochner v New York, 1905.

Economic Slavery

I have a proposal. Since we as a society permit children to inherit the accumulated wealth of their parents (unless you are “too” wealthy, then we take half of it!) then isn’t it reasonable that children should also inherit the liabilities as well as the assets of their parents? Currently if assets exceed liabilities then there is a positive inheritance. If liabilities exceed assets then there is nothing to inherit and the creditors and thus society end up paying (by passing those losses onto everyone else). Surely the children should be the ones to carry the burden of those liabilities since they must have benefited to some degree while under their parents’ guardianship. After all the parents made a life long investment in their children, so it’s only fair that that investment pay off. It would not have to be overly burdensome; it could be paid back over decades. And if those children happen to pass on then they would simply pass those debts onto their children, and so on until eventually all debts are repaid.

Anybody think this is a reasonable and sound idea? I’m hoping not. I’m hoping everyone views it as completely unreasonable, unfair and immoral. For a child to be born into this world saddled with the obligation of repaying debt that they had no part in incurring is the a most insidious kind of indentured servitude.

So if we all (I hope) agree this is unreasonable, then why is it considered reasonable when a group of individuals (society) through their proxy (government) borrows and thus incurs liabilities that are then simply passed on to their collective progeny in perpetuity? We frequently hear about how terrible it is that we are passing onto our children our debts of today. Well, we’ve been doing this for a long time, and as one of those children from 40 years ago, I have to say I really don’t appreciate being asked to pay higher taxes now to pay off the debts incurred by our government during the Nixon – Reagan administrations. As a child I had no vote, I could not give consent either legally or mentally, and yet I and everyone else my age are now asked to pony up a whole lot more in taxes. The left pontificates that that is the “responsible” thing to do. Hogwash. I have no moral obligation in repaying debts that I did not even have a voice in. The “responsible” thing to do is to simply cut spending in non-critical areas. Surely EVERYTHING government does can’t be critical.

If something is morally wrong at the individual level then simple logic dictates that it is still wrong when a group of individuals does the same thing. Right now we have a nearly $15 trillion IOU that will have to be repaid at some point, but not by those that enjoyed the benefits of those debts, but rather by those that will have to greatly sacrifice their present benefits (lower standard of living) in order to repay that debt. That is simply another form of slavery: economic slavery. It must be abolished.

Sweden, Sweden, Sweden…

Recently my wife and I became embroiled in a “Facebook” debate with some of her liberal friends. I won’t bore you with the details as you can probably guess where they stood and where we stood! We were disappointed to learn, however, that when arguing with (some) liberals (many responded to the thread) if they can’t offer a counter argument they simply resort to (a) name calling or (b) answering questions with non-sequiturs or (c) invoking “Sweden”. Well, I probably can’t convince them to dispense with a & b, but at least I can poke some big holes in the Sweden myth.

The Swedish “social utopia” myth is basically a conflation of two independent phenomena (high growth and high taxes) and confusing that conflation as causation rather than correlation. High taxes (the cart) do not push the horse (high growth), rather the converse. In other words: a leaking boat takes time to sink, the length of time depends on the size of the boat and the leak, but eventually, if nothing is done, that boat will sink. Sweden did well in the beginning because it was a big boat with a small leak.

Sweden built up a strong capital base starting in the 1860s after several free-market reforms transformed it into an industrial powerhouse. It also has been aided by the fact that they stayed out of both World Wars and thus avoided the catastrophic destruction of their economy that the rest of Europe endured. In 1932 the “Social Democrats” came to power and began implementing new “social” programs. These programs did not kick in fully until about 1950 at which point they had one of the highest per-capita income growth rates in the world. From 1932 to 1976 government spending grew from 10% of GDP to over 50%. Then the economy began to strain under the enormous tax burden. For about the next 20 years the government thrashed around trying to figure how to solve the stagnating economy. Eventually lowered tax rates and a number of free market reforms were implemented which resulted in an economic rebound in the last 10 years. Another myth is the low unemployment figures, but as they say there are lies, damn lies and statistics. In this case Sweden’s unemployment figures are manipulated by classifying people as “employed” who are on long-term sick leave, paid not to work or people pushed into early retirement. The real rate is closer to 25% without all the statistical sleight of hand.

The Sweden myth is the classic Bastiat example of “the seen and unseen” effects of an economic policy. We “see” the wonderful utopia of universal “free” goodies for all, but we don’t see the “unseen”: the consumption and destruction of previously saved capital (1860-1950) not being replaced at an equal rate. This net consumption breeds a society of dependency. The Swedes are slowly squandering their inheritance, as are we (ours, not theirs!). But being human (“kick the can down the road”) we most likely won’t figure this out until we are at the brink of destruction. Hopefully it won’t come to that.

Money doesn’t matter

Can one make too much money? Are the poor getting poorer? Will the rich amass so much wealth that it will leave none for the rest of us? No. Unfortunately affirmative responses are all too common and simply betray an ignorance of basic economics.

The mantra “the poor are getting poorer…” is a statistical sleight of hand reinforced by the notion that the economy is like a pie. The slice that the bottom 20% held in 2007 was indeed 0.3% smaller than it was in 1947. But the pie has nearly tripled in size and thus nominal (inflation adjusted) income has more than doubled. In terms of standard of living the poor are even better off. We include in the definition of “poor” even those suffering from a mere dearth of the latest goods. But such a metric is misleading. In terms of creature comforts the “poor” are better off today vs just 50 years ago (e.g. ubiquitous home air-conditioning, inexpensive TV’s, game systems, iPods, smartphones, etc). Compared to even the wealthy of a hundred or two hundred years ago the poor are living like kings – indoor plumbing, refrigeration, plentiful food, washing machines, cars, telephones, and the list goes on. Measured on an absolute rather than relative scale the “poor” in most countries are better off today than in any time in history.

Now, to the first and last point – aren’t some taking “too much” of even this bigger pie? If a few get “all” the money won’t that make everyone else “poor”? To answer this, let’s assume the most extreme case: one wealthy person amasses 99% of all the money in the economy. Surely this is a terribly “unfair” scenario that must be prevented, right? Wrong. Why? How can anything get done with so little money? Easily (in a non-government manipulated economy). In this scenario money would be in HIGH DEMAND. Demand is proportional to price, thus “money” would have a HIGH PRICE. Price is the cost of one good in terms of another good. A unit of money will cost more goods than it used to. So if $1 cost a dozen eggs then now it will cost more eggs, lets say 120. So we go from $1/12 = 8¢/egg to $1/120 = 0.8¢. What has happened? Because dollars are in high DEMAND the PRICE of dollars in terms of other goods has gone UP, whereas the price of other goods in terms of dollars has gone DOWN. This is monetary price deflation and contrary to what the Fed might have you believe it is a good and natural thing. The rest of the people in the economy can go about their business producing and exchanging as they were before simply using pennies in place of dollars. It is production of goods & services that produces wealth, not money. The amount of money in an economy does not matter and has no effect on the productivity of that economy. As long as people continue producing, they can never be “poor” no matter how much the “rich” have.

Equalization?

Equal. This simple word conceptualizes our most basic and noble sentiments: all men are created equal…equal protection under the law, etc. But, it has a sinister sibling that it is often confused with: “equalization”. This concept is the dubious notion that we should forcefully create a state of “equality” among all citizens, at least on an economic level.

But why this notion that equalization is necessary? The usual answer is that it is “bad” when some make “too much” money. However, this response betrays a childish and simplistic view of the economy, one wherein it is likened to a board game (one player wins and all others lose). This view is based on the fallacy that money itself is wealth. But, it is production, not money, that is the basis for wealth. If money were wealth then the government could just print up a billion dollars for each of us and our troubles would be over!

To illustrate the true nature of wealth let us consider two hypothetical peach farmers, let’s call them Hayek and Keynes (google the names to get the joke here). They each start with one peach tree. Each year they produce a crop sufficient to sustain themselves. After a few years of this Farmer Hayek decides to not sell all his peaches, rather he plants a few to grow new trees. [Economics lesson: the act of not consuming is called “saving”, anything saved is called “profit” and accumulated profits are called “capital”. Capital is that which is produced not for consumption but for further production.] Farmer K sells all his peaches each year and lives it up relative to Farmer H (i.e. he consumes all that he produces and does not save anything). After a few years Farmer H’s new trees start to bear fruit. After several years Farmer H has a large orchard that out produces Farmer K’s single tree. Farmer H now has many options: he can purchase any number of goods that Farmer K could never afford, or perhaps he may hire someone to manage his farm thus allowing him to retire early. His deferment of present consumption (unsold peaches) is accumulated and thus becomes capital (new trees), which makes possible greater future production.

After several years Farmer H makes a hundred times what Farmer K does. Is that bad? Should we “equalize” them by taking the “excess” profit from Farmer H and giving it to Farmer K? Is Farmer K worse off than before? No. Farmer H did not take anything from Farmer K, he simply produced more by employing the simple concepts of capitalism.

The economy is not a zero sum game. Farmer K is not worse off because Farmer H produced more. If a CEO or Wallstreet mogul makes millions or billions it doesn’t negatively affect me (or anyone else) in the slightest. They did not forcefully take anything from me (only the government is allowed to do that!) All “equalization” does is punish those that efficiently produce what other people want. So let’s keep our tax policy focused on funding the government, not on correcting ill-conceived notions of equality.

Pet Peeve Regulations

It was recently reported  that the Morgan County BOC  is seeking to enact an ordinance that would regulate garage sales. This proposed ordinance is absurd. The reasons for it are so ludicrous I thought perhaps the article was a satire. It was reported that a mere 12 complaints (0.06% of the county population) a year about garage sale signs in part prompted this proposal. The next issue was that “unregulated outdoor sales annoy citizens.” So, I suppose regulated outdoor sales would not annoy them? The bar is awfully low if mere annoyance is sufficient to prompt regulation. Another cited issue is “traffic congestion.” The most “traffic congestion” I’ve ever seen is through downtown Madison around 5 pm… where it might take an extra 2-3 minutes to get through town. Even this “congestion” is not worthy of regulation.  The final reason is an embodiment of ambiguity:  “disrupt the local residential environment.” A statement so broad that it can apply to virtually any “annoyance” is the regulator’s best friend.

So, I suppose regulated outdoor sales would not annoy them?
In order to qualify for the “privilege-that-used-to-be-a-right” of having a garage sale one would seek permission of a bureaucrat who could arbitrarily deny a request based on the most nebulous of reasons – i.e. “would not be in the interest of the public health, safety and welfare.”  Since that phrase can be interpreted to apply to any denial then decisions are based merely on subjective whims. Furthermore the ordinance would micromanage the sale itself, as it would “deal with how items can be displayed and the sizes and number of signs”. So, is the cash strapped county now going to pay people to go out and inspect garage sales to ensure they are in compliance? We certainly wouldn’t want items displayed incorrectly!

 

What’s next? Will the county require sellers to warranty goods for a certain period of time? Would they regulate the maximum price of an item? If this ordinance is enacted then it will become that much easier to justify new regulations by using this regulation as a precedent. Perhaps birthday parties should be regulated as well? Perhaps any kind of gathering at one’s residence should be regulated? Nearly all the issues cited in support of this ordinance also apply to such gatherings, why not regulate them too? This is a classic slippery slope. The goal of regulations should be the protection, not violation, of natural rights. This regulation violates the property rights of the seller by limiting their ability to sell their own property. If a seller does happen to violate the rights of others in their sale then they should likewise be cited under EXISTING laws. There is no need for a new patchwork of “pet peeve” regulations.

Carrots vs Sticks

In a previous article I distinguished “requirements” for life from “rights”. Requirements are things that we are to provide for ourselves which allow us to continue the biological process we call life (e.g. food, water, healthcare, shelter). Since we are to provide these for ourselves either directly (e.g. grow our own food, etc) or indirectly (via work which is exchanged for money which is then exchanged for these things), this then begs the question: What of those that are incapable of providing for themselves? Shouldn’t the government provide this social “safety net”? Well, actually no. Why? There are three principal reasons although I could simply point to the nightmare of a Ponzi scheme that is Social Security and Medicare as prime examples of how well government is able to manage such systems.

1)    Theft. Theft for a noble cause is still wrong. Merely renaming “theft” by a group (government) from the individual (taxpayer) as “taxation” does not suddenly change its moral character. If I rob my neighbor and then donate all that I have stolen to the local food bank, is that ok? Clearly not. In the same way if the government robs from my neighbor (taxation) and gives to someone else, it is still wrong.
2)    Inefficiency. Government is inherently incapable of utilizing resources (tax money) efficiently because it does not employ the profit/loss feedback system. Profit says “you’re providing something people want” whereas Loss says “you’re not providing something people want.” The funds doled out by governments are not theirs; thus there is no inherent motivation to efficiently allocate such funds. In fact government budgeting rationale is the opposite of that in a profit/loss system: using all money and NOT accomplishing your goal is justification to get even more money. Without a profit/loss test governments are doomed to be throwing darts at a budgetary efficiency target whilst blindfolded… every now and then they’ll get lucky, but most of the time they don’t even hit the board.
3)    Forced Charity. Every major world religion holds acts of charity in inestimably high regard. Such acts must come from within, not without. If we are forced by the government into giving (through taxation or the proposed “Universal National Service Act” continually reintroduced by Rep. Rangel (D)) then two thefts have occurred. First our money or time. But secondly we are robbed of the positive spiritual feedback we could have received when we willingly extend assistance to someone who truly needs it.  
Independent, free market and unregulated charitable organizations are the most efficient tool to help those that need assistance. They offer the exact counterbalance to the above three problems with government based charity. Theft is transformed into Giving. Money that was stolen is now given to those charities the citizen (not the government) deems worthy. Inefficiency is transformed into Efficiency. Charities are described as “non-profit” organizations however that is merely a tax descriptor. Charities do profit, but non-profit tax regulations prohibit distributing said profit to the owners of the charity. All money is reinvested. So the profit test exists – inefficient or bad charities go out of business and those that “profit” will grow bigger and more able to accomplish their mission. And finally, Forced Charity is transformed into Charity. When we give to someone willingly we get back much more in a spiritual sense. The positive feedback from giving compels the giver to continue giving. What could be better then a system that encourages giving through carrots rather than sticks?