Non-Profits

The theory has been that non-profits are needed to avail a social safety net, so that charitable functions can be decentralized away from corrupt and inefficient political power mongers. Unfortunately, corruption knows little of decency or modesty and quickly learns how to overcome the politics not only of governments but also of charities. Once charities are reduced to much the same centralized corruption as government, then it becomes ridiculous to hope to replace inefficiency and corruption by relying on charities. Nearly every other institution of significance has been corrupted by cronyism, so it's only to be expected that opportunities respecting money and power in non-profits cannot remain unexploited. Crony power secondary to self worship has us in an evil vise grip. So the kind of reform that's needed will not be undertaken by powers that be. Those powers will not dis-establish themselves. The reform that's needed must be undertaken not by an ocean of new regulations (which would only be corrupted to service cronies), but by sensible and general measures calculated to restore common sense and decency. That will not occur, however, unless and until there's a general awakening. There's every chance such awakening won't occur until the cell doors have closed to the last chance. We may be seeing the last vistas of ordinary decency and liberty, as faux gods of crony self interest finish extending their overlapping spider webs to the very last of our material hopes. If the income tax cannot be repealed and replaced with a progressive consumption tax, then at least the deduction for charitable contributions should be repealed. Moreover, the talk of ending death taxes calculated to limit the progressive rise of an aristocracy is fundamentally misguided. Most likely, however, the noise machine will continue to drown any awakening to common sense.