If only the government would get out of the way...

Conservatives (and closet Ricardians) hold to the idea that government spending on social services displaces a substantial amount of charitable spending on the same services. They argue--if only the government would get out of the way, private non-profits would step in and perform "true charity."

It's an interesting theory, but it doesn't work. For instance, a study that Mark Wilhelm and I conducted about a decade ago showed that each dollar of government spending on overseas relief and development only displaced about 8 to 23 cents of private spending. The results indicated that there was a little substitution of private generosity but not nearly enough to make up for the loss of public spending. Put another way, if the government cuts spending for this purpose and puts the money back into private pockets, 77 to 92 cents of that money will stay in those private pockets.

Here in North Carolina, we're seeing similar results, with the News Observer reporting that the Raleigh YWCA will soon be ceasing operations.

The YWCA of the Greater Triangle ceased operations Wednesday in the face of mounting financial problems, an abrupt end to a social services organization that has been working on behalf of women in the Raleigh area for 110 years.

The move put all of the YWCA's employees out of work and leaves in a lurch the parents of about 50 elementary school-aged children who relied on the Y's after-school care, as well as about 60 older adults whose main meal of the day came from a Meals on Wheels program based at the East Hargett Street facility.

In all, the YWCA served about 12,000 people throughout the Triangle in its mission to "eliminate racism and empower women." Much of the work the YWCA did was designed to help financially strapped single mothers.

According to conservative dogma, cuts in publicly-funded social services in North Carolina should have unleashed a tidal wave of private support; instead, the tide seems not only to be out but to still be receding.

The situation in Raleigh is not unique. Nationally, charitable giving has not responded to cuts in public spending. The Center for Philanthropy at the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis reported last fall that charities across the country were continuing to struggle.

As the fourth quarter of 2011 begins—typically the most important time of year for fundraising—fewer than half of surveyed nonprofits reported fundraising increases during the first half of 2011 compared with the same period in 2010.

According to a report released today by the Nonprofit Research Collaborative (NRC), of 813 responding nonprofits surveyed in July:

• 44 percent reported increases in charitable contributions received through June, compared with the same period in 2010;
• 25 percent reported giving remained level; and
• 30 percent reported charitable contributions have declined so far this year.
• 1 percent did not know.

These numbers are barely changed from the NRC 2010 year-end survey, when 43 percent of respondents indicated they raised more money in 2010 than they did in 2009. At that time, almost a quarter (24 percent) saw giving remaining level, and 33 percent raised less.

These results indicate that nonprofit organizations still face a difficult fundraising climate. In AFP’s 2007 State of Fundraising Survey, which asked the same questions as the 2011 NRC study, 65 percent of respondents raised more money that year, before the recession, than in 2006. Eleven percent raised about the same, and 24 percent raised less.

For many critical social services, if the government gets out of the way, the services simply don't get performed.

Maybe that's what conservatives really want.

Charity begins someplace else

Apparently, beggars have had it too easy in Johnston County, but the Johnston County commissioners have an app for that.

Panhandlers could soon have to undergo a criminal background check and pay $20 a month if they want to continually ask people for money in Johnston County.

County commissioners voted 6-1 last week to set limits on people who beg for money in Johnston. Wade Stewart cast the lone vote against a new ordinance. A second vote is set to take place next month.

Under the proposed rules, panhandlers would be required to get a permit every 30 days through the sheriff's office. The first month's permit would be free, but panhandlers would pay $20 for each subsequent permit.

Lest you think the dissenting vote represented some soft-hearted squishiness on the part of the commissioners, that vote came because a commissioner feared the licenses would create an entitlement to beg.

Conservatives have long maintained that charity is undermined by government assistance. However, as the Johnson County commissioners show, charity is actually undermined by the lack of charity.

Preying on the vulnerable

This morning's news includes a trio of depressing stories about lowlifes who prey on vulnerable populations and on those who assist the poor.

Let's start with Somalia, where the New York Times reports

As much as half the food aid sent to Somalia is diverted from needy people to a web of corrupt contractors, radical Islamist militants and local United Nations staff members, according to a new Security Council report.

Meanwhile in Pakistan,

Suspected militants armed with grenades attacked the offices of an international aid group helping earthquake survivors in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing six employees and wounding several others, police and the organization said.

All the victims of the assault on World Vision, a large Christian humanitarian group, were Pakistanis.

Extremists have killed other people working for foreign aid groups in Pakistan and issued statements saying such organizations were working against Islam, greatly hampering efforts to raise living standards in the desperately poor region. Many groups have scaled down operations in the northwest or pulled out altogether.

And locally,

A reported Greensboro cleaning company has closed and its owners are believed to have left town after accusations they defrauded job applicants out of hundreds of dollars by promising jobs that never existed, police said.

...The company posted fliers at the Greensboro Urban Ministry and winter emergency shelters in the area over the past two months looking to hire about 150 workers and advertising jobs at $9 an hour.

Police believe hundreds of applicants came, filled out paperwork, gave their personal information for a background check and took a 300-question test about janitorial work.

Once hired, they were required to pay $55 — cash only — for two to four uniforms and a pair of boots.

The uniforms never came; the workers never received starting dates.

What would you do for a Klondike bar?

I am frequently contacted by companies promising some compensation if I will write something nice about their site or product. Yesterday's post should give you a fair indication about my feelings toward these kinds of arrangements.

Last night, as if on cue, another of these e-mails along these lines arrived, but with a twist. The e-mail described a Spread the Word for Charity campaign, in which hotelscombined, a hotel search and comparison site, would contribute $20 to World Vision for mentioning its site.

World Vision is a charity that I support and advertise, so, the offer of a $20 donation hit a soft spot. Mentioning the site did mean a somewhat embarrassing retreat from yesterday's post; however, it didn't involve eating any more SNAP meals.

I went to the hotelscombined and Expedia sites to check hotels for an upcoming trip to a small southwestern U.S. town. For the town itself, hotelscombined returned the same hotels and indicated the same availability as Expedia. Hotelscombined also offered a better price on one of the hotels. Expedia listed additional hotels outside the town along with the distances to the town center.

I hope that readers appreciate the hypocrisy irony, and I especially hope that World Vision enjoys the donation.