Private Charity vs. Welfare State?

Question

Specifically in the US, which would ultimately raise more money for the underpriveleged? and Why?

Answer 1

I think it's probably best for them to work in tandem. Private charity is great, but it has a multitude of issues. For instance, governments can work faster than private charities. Also, they often have more power and more information.

Look what happened after the tsunami. The governments were able to put up a huge amount of money pretty quickly, and they were able to get rescue crews out there fast. Also, do you remember the stories of people burning the piles of clothes they got from private donations because they had too much of that? It takes longer for word to filter down to commoners about what is needed most, and sometimes it never even gets there.

Governmental support has its own flaws (stagnation, bureaucracy, the whims of elected officials), but there are some things that you need a government there to do. The great tragedy of Hurricane Katrina was not that people didn't want to help- they did, and they opened their pocketbooks. It was more that our government couldn't or wouldn't. With FEMA crippled, the National Guard out of this country, and no real government support, New Orleans drowned and is now nowhere near recovery.