Dear Editor,
This is a reply to letter dated Feb. 19.
Yes volunteerism is always valuable and important, but we should not overlook the role of government, particularly in the U.S. I say “particularly” because the U.S. has seen a constant degrading and downsizing of government, especially our federal government, ever since the last century. And this government default has resulted in the worsening of many, many social problems.
These include homelessness and lack of affordable housing, poverty and resultant crime, lack of accessible healthcare for millions ( Obamacare didn’t solve this problem, only slightly lessened it), too-high college costs, etc.
I would like to remind readers that one of the basic reasons for even having a government is to, as it says in the Constitution, “Promote The General Welfare.” Citizens have a perfect right to look to government for help and succor. That’s what it’s there for. And don’t fall for the conservative/right-wing myth that our economy will “collapse” if there is any increase in social welfare spending. Baloney!
The truth is that currently there is plenty of money concentrated at the top in America, it’s just not being accessed or redistributed properly. The rich and corporations, by using various tax dodges and loopholes, are able to “get away with murder” tax wise (the White House Office of Management and Budget recently released a report on this, available online). This problem needs to be corrected…
So yes, volunteerism is great. But citizens can and should look to government for help and leadership and solutions when it comes to our social ills. After all that’s what government is there for, and our Founders, like Alexander Hamilton or George Washington, were all in favor of “energetic government.”
James Camilli
Cherry Hill
