Get Out of the Charity Business

There are literally thousands of government-funded, charity-like programs that are fraught with opportunities for fraud--In my opinion, it is time to end the insanity;

Steve Rossiter ——Bio and Archives--March 28, 2026

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Aside from what is going on in Iran today, the biggest news to come out of the Trump 47 administration is the reality that the federal and state governments are totally incompetent at managing charitable operations. For the first 175 years of America’s existence, charity was a local and church-based activity that well-served the American needy. During all that time there was minimal fraud because of local control and limited amounts of dollars involved.

For decades, fraud has been recognized as a problem in federal programs and largely ignored

"Charity is no part of the legislative duty of the government." ~ James Madison

"One great error is that we suppose mankind more honest than they are." ~ Alexander Hamilton

Then in the 1960s, along comes “The Great Society” when the federal government and its co-conspirators in the states, start mucking around and usurping charitable activities from We the People. Nowhere in the United States Constitution is charity of any kind delegated to the United States government. Moreover, since January 20, 2025, overwhelming evidence has been uncovered that the United States government, in its ineptness or pure corruption, cost the American taxpayer hundreds of billions if not trillions of dollars in foreign and domestic fraudulent charity schemes.

“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” ~ Amendment X, to the United States Constitution

For decades, fraud has been recognized as a problem in federal programs and largely ignored as not worth dealing with. Of course, ignoring the fraud problem sent a signal that the federal cash register was open to all kinds of fraud, and here we are today.

Initially in Minnesota, nine billion dollars in fraud has been uncovered, and already in Los Angeles County alone three billion dollars of fraud has already been uncovered. In these two situations alone, we are already 15% of the way to the first trillion dollars in fraud against the American taxpayers.

I will not be surprised to find out that one third of the United States national debt is from fraudulent misappropriation of federal funds

The Founding Fathers recognized over 250 years ago that one size does not fit all. That is the reason they designed a system that limited the lane of the federal government and reserved most things to the states and to We the People. Social Security was, I suppose, not a bad thing until the federal government decided to provide Social Security benefits to people who had not paid into the system. Then it became just another tax for redistribution of wealth to people not paying into the system. In my opinion, as a person who spent his working life paying into that system, it is simply wrong!

Based on what little information we have so far, I will not be surprised to find out that one third of the United States national debt is from fraudulent misappropriation of federal funds that were directed to charity type programs, which as James Madison pointed out, is not a government legislative duty. Prior to the government poking its nose into the charity business, the arts did just fine, libraries did just fine, colleges did just fine, farmers did just fine, fishermen did just fine, and all other charitable activities did just fine being funded by the private sector. All the government has done by getting into the charity business is queer every system it has touched and created a massive expensive government bureaucracy that can’t manage this one size fits all debacle that isn’t even in the government’s wheelhouse.

Stop the financial bleeding and terminate all federal charitable type programs, foreign and domestic

It has been well acknowledged that much of United States foreign (government to government) aid ends up in the hands of corrupt foreign government officials. Why has that been accepted and not stopped? We should know by now that we can’t buy friends.

As well intended as government participation in charitable efforts might have been, it is a demonstrable disaster that is far beyond the point of fixing. From my perspective, the only logical solution is for the federal government to stop the financial bleeding and terminate all federal charitable type programs, foreign and domestic. These are programs to be managed by We the People and the states where the people decide to do so.

"To compel a man to furnish funds for the propagation of ideas he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical." ~ Thomas Jefferson

There are literally thousands of government-funded, charity-like programs that are fraught with opportunities for fraud. The only reasonable solution is to turn them all off and return them to locals. Whether it is called research, subsidies, loans, foreign aid, or grants, we are seeing up-front and personal that they are all subject to fraud. In my opinion, it is time to end the insanity.

After a 55 year career as a professional pilot in the military, in law enforcement, in the private sector, and in federal civil service, I am now retired.

In many of these positions I repeatedly took an oath to defend the United States Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic.

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