I have no problem with money donated to Africa through a registered Canadian charity being given a tax break. I think if an individual can afford to give to charity, one should. I have 2 issues:
1. The Government should not be involved in charitable givings with taxpayers money. If they want to force people to give, when I fill out my taxes show that some of my tax $ will be redirected to charity and allow me to choose. Since this would be money I would be paying the government anyway, its not a big deal.
2. The problems in Africa, in my opionion, cannot be solved with simple $$$$. $$$ is just a band-aid (no pun indended -- well maybe a little) solution.
Do you mean like Welfare, Health Care, Disability, Education, Disaster relief, Search and Rescue and so on? All social programs are based upon charitable principles. Long after your kid has left public school, you will pay those taxes either through rent or property taxes. Even secondary education is subsidized and apprenticeship programs.
Half your income taxes paid over the last 8 years and then subtract from that what it would cost for your private health care, private education then look at the difference.
No one is driving up to Africa with a tanker full of change and dumping it on some beach. Funds have to be applied for, match criteria, meet on going requirements and show progress to be entitled for further funding.
The debt has been built up in the past by supporting without much investigation brutal and corrupt dictators and constant civil wars. And plenty of that was through the transfer of arms that have been rendered obsolete for our own military forces. And look at the ****e we have been using!
Money goes to dig wells for clean water. Build schools to teach kids how to farm, read and write, irrigate farmland. The basics so that a higher education can be taught outside the larger urban centres. All the stuff that we take for granted.
Like having your children educated benefits me in an indirect way, so to does helping break the cycle of desperate poverty in Africa. The more countries in the third world become developed and able to sustain themselves, the broader the base we have to spread the burden.
The more countries that fail, the fewer we have to trade resources with and end up having to do that work ourselves, building more resentment and eventually, more hostility towards our culture and people.
