A critical element in the GOP's attempt to unravel the 20th century's welfare state is the argument that individual charity will step in to help those in need. You can see this at its best in the work of the LDS church. They may have a completely heretical Christian view of the value of commerce, business and money – but they have a very orthodox Christian tradition of mutual caring, support and charity for the needy. This is also behind David Cameron's much more modest attempt to move from Big Government to what he has called Big Society.
And in general outlines, I support this. Many private charities, including religious ones, do amazing work in part because they are independent of the state and driven by zeal. The Salvation Army springs to mind – but so do countless food banks, shelters, volunteerism etc. Enlarging the space for these groups is essential if we are to restrain government and not forsake the needy. That's why I'd abolish every single tax deduction but that for charity. And a new study also finds that states with heavy religious faith traditions contribute more to charity than more secular ones. The red states out-give the blue states. Which speaks highly of their consistency.
Another aspect largely due to religion that Bill Maher and the GOP might equally ponder:
The Bureau of Labor Statistics' latest survey of consumer expenditure found that the poorest fifth of U.S. households contributed an average of 4.3 percent of their incomes to charitable organizations in 2007. The richest fifth gave at less than half that rate, 2.1 percent.
Paul Ryan falls into the richest fifth category:
The Ryans donated $12,991 to charity in 2011, and $2,600 to charity in 2010 — which are 4 percent and 1.2 percent of his income, respectively.
Lets round it out at 2.5 percent. The average is 3.5 percent. How much did the Obamas give in 2010? 14.2 percent – compared with Ryan's 1.2 percent – and Santorum's 1.7 percent. Romney was far more generous, largely through tithing – but he was still beaten in percentage terms by Obama in 2010. But it's Ryan who is the most prominent advocate of replacing state care with private charity. It's just that others will have to supply the charity. Judging by his past, he sure won't.
The Dish 