Actually, in retrospect, I wish I had not sent so much money to the 9/11 victims. It was feel good money at the time.
Hard to avoid falling into those traps. I was heartbroken (well, ok, slight exaggeration) to learn that the Heifer Project doesn't really send hives of bees despite the fact that I specified bees, they decide what projects to fund.
Last night Ben told me that he was thinking about going to med school so he could help people. He just did not see how being an economist would help people.
So I pulled out my copy of "Commanding Heights", which he hadn't watched since he started studying economics, to show him how good economists (e.g., Hayek) help billions of people.
Hard to measure charity. Hard to gauge contributions. Who has helped more people, contributed more to humanity, than Adam Smith, I asked?
We only watched the first disk, haven't yet got to the "agony of reform" bit, which may make my point a tougher sell. |
