Summary Of David Hilfiker The Limits Of Charity
Limits of Charity David Hilfiker in his piece, “The Limits of Charity,” distinguishes charity and justice from his personal experiences. Charity in his eyes is what everyone should do. Charity is an act of kindness and love, which is required by our faith. However, he believes that random charity is not enough in order to create solutions from our economic, societal, and political problems. One of the actions he proposes is to go beyond the usual and slightly average donations. In other words, Hilfker suggests that we find where the root causes of poverty lies and start a change from there. In order for this to happen, the government needs to take action as well as those who do charity. This ultimately will lead to what he believes is justice.
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The government can certainly do more to aid those in poverty. Hilfiker mentioned the rise in minimum wage and reintroduction of more food stamps. Both of these might be short-term solutions, but they won’t insure long-term success because there is no guidance with these programs, and it is hard to climb up the ladder in our economy. The reason why I believe a higher minimum wage and food stamps won’t make improvements overall is because many of those who struggle either lack proper consultants or just do not see how they can get out of their destitute situation. The same goes for welfare. To help the poor remain on their feet and live comfortably, more institutions should be established that help give these people some sort of direction. Government funded programs in this case could lead the weak in making smart decisions. For the homeless, the government could create a program that assists the homeless in not only finding a job, but also having a management that watches over them until they are able to live alone. Also, the government could definitely establish a “safety net” once again to avoid homelessness like other developed countries that Hilfiker mentioned. Justice for all is difficult. It starts with small steps, and charity is the best way to work for
The government can certainly do more to aid those in poverty. Hilfiker mentioned the rise in minimum wage and reintroduction of more food stamps. Both of these might be short-term solutions, but they won’t insure long-term success because there is no guidance with these programs, and it is hard to climb up the ladder in our economy. The reason why I believe a higher minimum wage and food stamps won’t make improvements overall is because many of those who struggle either lack proper consultants or just do not see how they can get out of their destitute situation. The same goes for welfare. To help the poor remain on their feet and live comfortably, more institutions should be established that help give these people some sort of direction. Government funded programs in this case could lead the weak in making smart decisions. For the homeless, the government could create a program that assists the homeless in not only finding a job, but also having a management that watches over them until they are able to live alone. Also, the government could definitely establish a “safety net” once again to avoid homelessness like other developed countries that Hilfiker mentioned. Justice for all is difficult. It starts with small steps, and charity is the best way to work for