To the editor:
We are told that we should donate to charities to help those less fortunate than ourselves. I do that regularly, choosing those organizations that I feel make the most of my donations. There are various ways to research these charities. We can find out how much of each dollar actually goes to helping the needy. There are many charities and non-profits that have overpaid directors, no accountability for where the money actually goes, and no oversight making sure that the people who do get help are actually deserving of that help, and are virtually ineffective in helping the needy get back on their feet. Personally, I don’t choose to donate to ineffective organizations. It does not make sense to me to do so. Donating to these organizations is just like throwing money in the trash. It doesn’t help anybody but the administrators of the organizations.
The Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance is a government-run charity organization. The government doesn’t call it a charity, but, that is exactly what it is. This charity is funded exclusively by taxpayers. The DTA has been found to be less than diligent in making sure the funds are distributed to needy and deserving people. The DTA pays benefits to dead people. The DTA pays benefits to people committing identity fraud. The DTA pays benefits to people who are in this country illegally. There is absolutely no accountability in that organization. The organization requires nothing from its “clients.” They do not have to work, perform community service, go to school for job training and are not required to pay the money back. It has been reported that one-third of its “clients” are not even eligible for the benefits they are receiving.
With the amount of mismanagement, abuse, fraud, ineffectiveness and the lack of accountability, this is not a charitable organization to which I would voluntarily contribute. I am sure that if this were a privately run charity, donors would run quickly in the opposite direction. I know that I would. However, you and I are being forced to fund this mismanaged organization. We have no choice. We have to pay our taxes and a portion of our taxes are then given to the DTA to waste.
I have to wonder at the legality of this. Is it legal for the federal government and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to force taxpayers to financially support a charity that is this mismanaged? Is it legal for them to require us to fund any charity? I was under the belief that charitable donations were voluntary and that we have the right to choose to which charities we contribute.
I want to donate to a charity that helps people that are willing to help themselves. A charity that helps people that want to support themselves but need some help getting to that point. I don’t want to fund a charity that gives money to criminals, gang members, and others who just want the freebies and don’t have any intention of trying to improve their situation.
The government is violating our rights by forcing us to fund charitable organizations that we would never agree to fund voluntarily. If this isn’t illegal, it should be.
Judy Berezansky
Haverhill
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