This isn't a rhetorical question. This a real (non-theoretical) dilemma currently facing our Board of Commissioners that gives us the opportunity to have a philosophical discussion about the role the local government, then to act on our individual decisions by contacting the commissioners.

Read the story: Nonprofit Makes Case to County for Continued Assistance

There is no question that Friend to Friend does truly great things in Moore Co. Many of us have donated to it, personally, but does that mean we can obligate our neighbors to (partially) fund it? Well, it may! They have to pay for law enforcement, roads, etc. Are the services offered by F2F those that are proper functions of government?

Point: This expenditure is a rightful public safety role of the county and F2F is a more efficient way of providing it than county bureaucracy would be.
Counter Point: I don't have the right to obligate my neighbors—who may have serious financial challenges (sick child, disability, caring for a parent, leaky roof, etc.) and can barely pay the property taxes on to the house they outright own—to pay for part of Friend to Friend's operating costs.

​What do you think?

A tariff is a tax or duty imposed by one nation on the imported goods or services of another nation. Tariffs are a political tool that have been used throughout history to control the amount of imports that flow into a country and to determine which nations will be granted the most favorable trading conditions. High tariffs create protectionism, shielding a domestic industry's products against foreign competition. High tariffs usually reduce the importation of a given product because the high tariff leads to a high price for the customers of that product. Read the rest of the article on Inc.com

Note: US tariffs are taxes paid by US citizens; they increase our cost of living.

See video Hoover and the Great Depression (4:36)