Would you pay higher taxes to help end abortion?

[Fitswimmer]

I was doing volunteer work last night, gathering up donations to give to mothers that come to our pro-life center. We were talking about how our donations have slipped recently since gas and food prices have risen. The people that used to donate are now spending more to support their own families.

We all said that we would gladly pay more in taxes to see that women had the support they need to carry their babies to term, because donations are so unreliable. When the cost of living goes up, our donations go down and our demand goes up. Government support would be steady.

So, would we pay more in taxes? Or is the only way to end abortion the way that doesn’t cost us anything?

 

[KenEOTE]

I was doing volunteer work last night, gathering up donations to give to mothers that come to our pro-life center. We were talking about how our donations have slipped recently since gas and food prices have risen. The people that used to donate are now spending more to support their own families.

We all said that we would gladly pay more in taxes to see that women had the support they need to carry their babies to term, because donations are so unreliable. When the cost of living goes up, our donations go down and our demand goes up. Government support would be steady.

So, would we pay more in taxes? Or is the only way to end abortion the way that doesn’t cost us anything?

I would be mroe then happy to have my tax money go to help young woman who wish to not terminate the baby. I would also be happy if my taxes went to families who adobted the babies. I think that is a great idea. Our tax money already finds its way to Planned Parenthood, I’d much rather go to True Parenthood. Sounds like you might have a begining of a Lobbying Career.

 

[Fitswimmer]

I would be mroe then happy to have my tax money go to help young woman who wish to not terminate the baby. I would also be happy if my taxes went to families who adobted the babies. I think that is a great idea. Our tax money already finds its way to Planned Parenthood, I’d much rather go to True Parenthood. Sounds like you might have a begining of a Lobbying Career.

Just a bunch of frustrated volunteers wishing we could do more…

 

[sanctamaria17]

YES!

 

[Reid]

I was doing volunteer work last night, gathering up donations to give to mothers that come to our pro-life center. We were talking about how our donations have slipped recently since gas and food prices have risen. The people that used to donate are now spending more to support their own families.

We all said that we would gladly pay more in taxes to see that women had the support they need to carry their babies to term, because donations are so unreliable. When the cost of living goes up, our donations go down and our demand goes up. Government support would be steady.

So, would we pay more in taxes? Or is the only way to end abortion the way that doesn’t cost us anything?

No

 

[JimO]

I would gladly pay more taxes for that purpose if I was confident that it would be spent wisely and that it would in no way support abortion. We give money to crisis pregnancy centers for that very purpose. The problem is that taxes can’t be earmarked for certain programs and the bigger the organization, the less control there is and the less certainty you have that the money will go for its intended purpose. This is especially problematic with federal tax money.

As an example, years ago, the State of Florida sold the idea of a State lottery by promising that all proceeds would go to education. Well, to make a long story short, the State spends less per student (on an inflation adjusted basis) now than it did before the lottery. The lottery organization is so bloated that the 'proceeds" are minimal compared to the gross income and even though the State can show that an amount equal to or greater than the “proceeds” goes to education, the money previously going to education from the general fund was taken away. So, in reality, the Florida Lottery hasn’t improved educational funding at all.

I fear that the same kind of thing would happen if taxes were collected to help pregnant women.

 

[KathleenElsie]

I was doing volunteer work last night, gathering up donations to give to mothers that come to our pro-life center. We were talking about how our donations have slipped recently since gas and food prices have risen. The people that used to donate are now spending more to support their own families.

We all said that we would gladly pay more in taxes to see that women had the support they need to carry their babies to term, because donations are so unreliable. When the cost of living goes up, our donations go down and our demand goes up. Government support would be steady.

So, would we pay more in taxes? Or is the only way to end abortion the way that doesn’t cost us anything?

Yes if I could designate where the money went. I don’t think this has ever been the case and I don’t think it will ever be. As long as I don’t have a say in the spending then I much rather give to Catholic Charities and other life issues charities.

We don’t talk much when working at the hunger garden. Praying while working is our preferred choice.

 

[Fitswimmer]

Yes if I could designate where the money went. I don’t think this has ever been the case and I don’t think it will ever be. As long as I don’t have a say in the spending then I much rather give to Catholic Charities and other life issues charities.

We don’t talk much when working at the hunger garden. Praying while working is our preferred choice.

Guess we’re just not that noble. We prefer getting to know each other.

 

[bilop]

I was doing volunteer work last night, gathering up donations to give to mothers that come to our pro-life center. We were talking about how our donations have slipped recently since gas and food prices have risen. The people that used to donate are now spending more to support their own families.

We all said that we would gladly pay more in taxes to see that women had the support they need to carry their babies to term, because donations are so unreliable. When the cost of living goes up, our donations go down and our demand goes up. Government support would be steady.

So, would we pay more in taxes? Or is the only way to end abortion the way that doesn’t cost us anything?

Yes, but ban abortion first, then raise the taxes to pay for orphanages or whatever.

I do not buy that some general increase in government welfare spending is going to reduce abortions.

God Bless

 

[BlestOne]

I don’t trust the way the government would manage such a program… I would much rather support local right to life charities.

 

[rlg94086]

Yes, but ban abortion first, then raise the taxes to pay for orphanages or whatever.

I do not buy that some general increase in government welfare spending is going to reduce abortions.

God Bless

That sounds like a plan. I will gladly pay more taxes, if it is attached to the banning of abortions. Since this wouldn’t be the case if it is an implementation by the pro-choice DFL, I would prefer to continue charitable giving and encouraging others to give.

 

[Fitswimmer]

For those of you that can give more to your local charities-PLEASE DO. Our local group is seriously hurting for donations since gas prices and food prices have gone up-that’s what started this whole conversation last night. The lady that runs it said we’re down nearly 20% from last year both in dollars and products.

I do a monthly Sam’s club run and buy diapers, wipes, sometimes the bulk boxes of baby food…anything I think they can use. As a single person, Sam’s isn’t really that much of a bargain for me personally, but it’s great for food pantry and shelter donations.

 

[Caesar517]

I don’t trust the way the government would manage such a program… I would much rather support local right to life charities.

When has the government ever solved anything? Everything the government gets involved in spirals downwards. I don’t want Uncle Sam managing my charity.

 

[Appleby]

I was doing volunteer work last night, gathering up donations to give to mothers that come to our pro-life center. We were talking about how our donations have slipped recently since gas and food prices have risen. The people that used to donate are now spending more to support their own families.

We all said that we would gladly pay more in taxes to see that women had the support they need to carry their babies to term, because donations are so unreliable. When the cost of living goes up, our donations go down and our demand goes up. Government support would be steady.

So, would we pay more in taxes? Or is the only way to end abortion the way that doesn’t cost us anything?

NO! If you cannot collect money from people who are voluntarily supporting you, you have no right to forcibly extort money from the unwilling to support your cause, however sincere it may be.

There are already far too many People of Desperate Sincerity trying to empty my pockets for “funding” to support something that people will not support willingly. (Including a City Grant to a band whose name is “Holy _______” to go touring the world spreading Canadian Culture!).

I am willing to contribute voluntarily to help Madonna House or any other shelter or society dedicated to encouraging adoption or helping women to support their babies. However, I am not willing to be held up at gunpoint for the funds, lest the next person with the gun want to extort money from me to pay for abortions.

 

[BlestOne]

When has the government ever solved anything? Everything the government gets involved in spirals downwards. I don’t want Uncle Sam managing my charity.

Or as one co-worker commented to me (we were both in the military at the time), “There ain’t no money in workin for a not for profit organization.”

Seriously, Bush’s plan for charitable organizations was much better than any program the government could come up with! Faith based initiative gives local people who care the control over the programs…

 

[Oscarthecat]

Having worked in private charities for most of my career, I can tell you that government funding may seem appealing on the surface, but it comes at a huge cost. Every time I witnessed an organization accept government $$, whether Federal, State, or local, there were always compromises. In fact, I resigned from one position because of the changes the board was willing to accept in order to qualify for government $$.

Their dollars influenced us in ways we never expected - taking government money generally requires that you incorporate government policies on everything from personnel policies to how you fulfill your mission statement. That means that you have to be very careful if you want to hire only Catholic employees without getting slapped with a discrimination suit.

As if that wasn’t enough, they blacked out certain periods of the year when we were not allowed to raise funds because the grant was in partnership with the United Way- and everybody knows that the UW doesn’t allow their agencies to fund-raise for several months of the year during their fund drives.

And I hope you like paperwork, because you can expect that to at least double once the grant reporting terms are settled. In one case, our accountant’s workload increased by 30% due to government reporting requirements- for a grant that represented less than 10% of our budget!! Oh, and be careful- because if you make a mistake or miss a deadline, you’ll probably lose the grant without notice, and you might even have to return any money already dispersed.

Oh, and did I mention that government grants almost always require the recipient agency to raise matching funds? That means that you’re still going to have to do fund raising- might even have to hire someone specifically for that purpose if it is stipulated in your grant.

In the long run you’re better off finding better ways to raise funds through other channels- if you’re really lucky, maybe you’ll find an individual benefactor who wants to privately stake your organization- that happens a lot more than you’d think.

 

[Appleby]

We have a really effective drop-in program for teens between 16 and 20 (roughly) and 25% of the girls are either pregnant or have given birth within the past 6 months. I tried collecting baby items from my co-workers, who are in the prime breeding years and who produce babies regularly (you get a year off with pay up here), and got absolutely nothing. So what I do is when they throw a baby shower or come to hit me up for a contribution for Ms. HavItAll and her new baby, I let them know that I will be making a contribution to Evergreens baby program in the name of the new arrival. I collect about a xerox box full every 2 months and I am sure the girls get far more out of the items than the women I work with get from the masses of stuff they collect.

Anything you can do to make the girls feel as if somebody cares is so welcome. And to know that someone personally wishes you and your baby well is so much better than just getting a handout from a faceless government flunky who only knows you as Case No. 1234/5.

 

[Trader]

This is a much bigger job than anything government can do. We need to teach the value of every child to every child long before they think of having their own children.

What does a child learn when his or her real “daddy” is the letter carrier who brings the child support or welfare check?

How important does a child feel if her father sees her only a few times per month, or a series of “father substitues” move in and out of her life?

Do you think that a child shuttled between step-parents, who may resent her presence as interferring with their biological children, learns anything about the importance of children?

How can you expect a teenagers to make sacrifices for their own children when their upbring has taught them the opposite?

Catholic schools can accomplish a lot in reinforcing the values of the home, but not many parents will send their children to a school that accurately teaches the parents are living in adultery. Those children wind up in government schools that reinforce the lack of values in the home.

 

[Appleby]

Trader, you are so right. And it would not hurt for the Catholic schools to bring back shame – not guilt, mind you, but shame. As in Shame On You … the whole community disapproval thing that lets young people know that what they are doing, or contemplating doing, or have done, is wrong. We had two girls during my entire high school years who got pregnant out of wedlock; one of them got married (shot gun wedding) and the other sneaked off to stay with Aunt Fannie and slunk back the next year with everybody knowing where she went and why. Now there are 14 year olds who have baby showers in homeroom.

We need to bring back the idea that this kind of behaviour is abnormal and wrong. If we can do it with tobacco, we can do it with out of wedlock pregnancy.

 

[Trader]

OK, I know that last post was a downer. It even depresses me. So what can each of us do?

Be kind to children whenever you can. Smile at them. Correct them when necessary, but gently.

For more than 15 years I have been delivering groceries to a home based daycare center, These children see me for about 10 minutes each week and some of them have called me grandpa. (Yes I know that is also very sad) Many of them ask me to pick them up. At 6 foot 2 most of the three year olds consider me a giant and I can lift them up to the ceiling. They stand in line for their turn to be picked up. The children run when they see me to ask if they can help unload the groceries.

What do your own children, neices, nephews, and neighbors learn from you? The fact is that children are not valued the way they were in the past, not even for their economic value as needed workers on the family farm. If children learn that they are only burdens to their parents, you can expect them to feel the same way about their own children some day.

If you neglect or abuse your children, you are training them to neglect and abuse your grandchildren.