Obama Aide says Government Not Good at Finding New Ways to Treat Social Problems

In a recent speech, Sonal Shah, head of the White House's Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation, said "It's hard to take risks when you have 535 board members," and "that resistance to cultural changes and legal constraints made it hard for government to be agile and try new approaches to finding and financing the most effective and innovative nonprofit groups."  So, she "urged foundations to take greater risks...to figure out what ideas were worth government investing in," according to a column at Philanthropy.com.

In review, Obama created a new "Office of Social Innovation."  The first lesson that the head of this new office learns is that government is a terrible way to achieve social innovation - they are not good at identifying good ideas, and not good at generating new ideas.

Instead of creating a new office that apparently has no function but to provide a few more government jobs, why didn't Obama just give some speeches about Americans donating more to their favorite charities, or volunteering?  Does the government really need to be more involved in channeling tax money into charities of their choice?

Insurance Doesn't Always Have to be a Government Program

The story of Vic Chesnutt, a singer-songwriter who died in December, has been circulating on the internet. He had been in a coma for some time, the cause of which is uncertain, but is rumored to be the result of a suicide attempt. He struggled with depression much of his life, partly due to a car accident that made him a paraplegic at a young age.

Chesnutt was also facing $70,000 in medical bills, and some groups have picked him up as a poster child for Americans who die because of a lack of health insurance.

"Insurance" is simply a mechanism for sharing costs and risks across a group of people - it doesn't require a complicated corporation or government program. Chesnutt was a minor celebrity - was he really unable (or unwilling) to raise $70,000 from other, willing Americans? Americans are proving themselves to be generous - look at all the millions flowing into Haiti every day.

In his acceptance speech in Grant Park last year, President Obama said "we know that government cant solve every problem" and "let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other."

Wouldn't it be wonderful if Obama used his State of the Union address to tell Americans not to wait for government to solve their problems...to tell Americans that sometimes people don't die from lack of health insurance - they sometimes die from lack of a community where people reach out and help each other - directly, with no government program telling them they must.

I'm sure Obama can find other words, but "my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country" would be a good sentiment right now.

Shameful Behavior at H&M's New York Store

This appalling story comes from the NY Times: "A Clothing Clearance Where More Than Just the Prices Have Been Slashed." They report this scene from the HM clothing store on 34th Street:

At the back entrance on 35th Street, awaiting trash haulers, were bags of garments that appear to have never been worn. And to make sure that they never would be worn or sold, someone had slashed most of them with box cutters or razors, a familiar sight outside H & M’s back door.

Similar clothes were also found at a nearby Wal-Mart, but a spokesman says "the company normally donates all its unworn goods to charities."

At any time, but particularly during this recession, H & M and Wal-Mart should be ashamed of themselves. "Directly around the corner from H & M is a big collection point for New York Cares, which conducts an annual coat drive."

How to Waste Your Charitable Contributions

Did you know you can make a tax-deductible contribution to help pay off the national debt? According to this Yahoo Finance article, you can!

As for me, I'd rather send my money someplace more responsible....er, efficient...er, better. Donating to the government is like offering a whiskey shot to an alcoholic.

An Agnostic's Thoughts on Tithing

In this article on CNN Living, agnostic A.J. Jacobs makes a case for tithing, "the practice of giving 10 percent of your annual income to the needy."

Interestingly, Jacobs notes: "as I gave away money, I think I might have felt God's pleasure. Which is odd. Because I'm agnostic. I don't know if there's a God or not, but still I felt some higher sense of purpose. It was like a cozy ember that started at the back of my neck and slowly spread its warmth through my skull. I felt like I was doing something I should have done all my life."

This year, and in 2010, whatever your personal convictions, consider "saying thank you to the universe -- or to God or to fate or to whatever you believe in" by giving to charity!