What Exactly Is the Cost of Giving?

Love the scene outside our window. Mama Robin at work

Kindness doesn't cost a cent.                                         Susan R.Grout 1985

Unto whomsoever much is given, of them shall much be required.                  Luke 12:48

Teach us to give and not to count the costs.            Ignatious Loyola 

 The list is long indeed for the benefits of generosity and kindness. Science can back up that statement, studies consistently show lower heart rate, better overall health and impressive good feelings you get from a donation to a good cause. It's almost as if you are rewarded more that the receipent. I strongly advocate being generous and loving for not only your mental health but physical health also. Another benefit from being generous is those people tend to live longer when they do acts of kindness and are generous.

Note also if the one who is generous has an ulterior motive ["what's in it for me?" says the donor who really only wants their name in the paper] the benefits are not so grand. 

I have learned kindness from the unkind and tolerance from the intolerant.                 St Augustine

I, on occasion, have verbally sledgehammered people who have shirked paying their taxes. One fact I got wrong: I said that $11 Billion has been stolen from our country by tax cheaters, hiding the  money in off shore accounts. Then I learned the figure is closer to $110 Billion. Of course this means that there is plenty of money to help anyone in need in this country with change left over. Think of the programs we could have: the college educations at low to no cost, the children that could be fed, the roads repaired, the people employed to fix those bridges and roads and on and on. 

What besides churlishness is stopping the Congress and the members of our Government from collecting those taxes? Do they need to rewrite a couple of laws requiring that off shore accounts be scrutinized and inspected for fraud and duplicity? Is there any justification for the people to hide their money in off shore accounts, thereby avoiding taxes? If there is a good reason, I'm open to hearing it. 

The new T government claims they want a balanced budget and a strong infrastructure, yet their answer is to gut the programs that help women and children; gut the EPA threatening our air and water; ramsack the ACA and then boost the already bloated pockets of the wealthy. Make sense of this for me.

Even the birds and animals know how important it is to feed the babies. Call it instinct but they appear to have more sense than some members of Congress. The money is there, use it for kindness and caring. We need to insure that our future is secure. 

susansmagicfeather 2017 copyright all rights reserved Susan R. Grout