an ethical choice?

  Any and all monies appropriated by the Congress of the United States comes from the pockets of the taxpayer. That is how that works in its' simplest terms. Those monies are to be used to conduct the business of government. The key term there being business. Congress votes to approve and disapprove the use of funds. Yes, Congress decides what the money is to be spent on. Congress however does not have to power to spend those monies on charity. The reason is simple enough, the function of congress is to conduct business, not run a charity! Recently we heard about student loan forgiveness. Three hundred billion dollars of charity! That three hundred billion dollars still needs to be paid back to the United States treasury department. Those that didn't borrow those monies, nor receive any benefit from those monies, are now responsible for paying that money back. 

 It's pretty easy to be charitable with other people's money. I have no problem giving away your money, sometimes to myself! That is what congress has been doing for quite a while now. If you were to somehow compile all the bills, all the spending on charitable issues, combined with all the grants the congress approves for various "research" projects, the number would be shocking. I'm guessing hundreds of billions is a conservative guess. How much of the taxes collected is actually being spent on business? That's a question I have. I don't have an answer for that but I do know the government is borrowing money from other countries, China is a big lender, to sustain our business. Will China simply forgive our debt? I don't think so. Fact is, all told, "we the people" owe foreign entities a staggering seven trillion dollars! Yup, foreign countries hold the notes on over seven trillion dollars' worth of securities! And yes, there is interest to be paid on those loans. Do you think any of those nations would just forgive those loans or say, don't worry about the interest, just make payments on the principal. 

  Loans are made to do what? Are they to be charitable donations to people so they can get whatever they want? Loans are made to do one thing, and one thing only, make more money for the one loaning the money out. Yes, I know, what a concept. It's almost like it is a business. You know why? Because it is a business. Student loans from the national treasury are issued for the same reason, to make money for the government treasury! The thinking being, if the treasury makes money, we won't have to borrow money! That was achieved way back in 1835 when the government actually owed no foreign entities a thing. That's correct, we the people had zero debt. President Andrew Jackson proclaimed the "public debt" was paid in full and said these words:   “Let us commemorate it as an event that gives us increased power as a nation, and reflects luster on our federal Union, of whose justice, fidelity, and wisdom it is a glorious illustration.”  Sadly, it didn't last long as Congress began debates on how to spend any surplus by distributing it to the states. By January the first of 1836 the debt had once again grown to 37,000 dollars and a depression began in 1839 that lasted four years. The civil war followed and with that, more debt.

 The public debt, that's what we are talking about. The Congress of the United States is supposed to conduct the business of governing the nation including managing the budget. Nowhere in the Constitution is Congress given the authority to donate to a single charity, of any kind. Charity is not mentioned anywhere in that document. You could argue the separation of church and state is evidence that the government is not a charitable organization! Charity is a moral thing, not a business thing. Ethics concerns morals in business and in your personal life. Is it ethical to forgive a debt to one group of people while imposing that debt on others? I fail to see how that can be justified. Is that "forgiveness" really ethical? You may very well feel it is the moral thing to do, and you are certainly welcome to donate any monies you want to any cause, group, or organization that you want to, it's your prerogative. The Congress is not an individual. The Congress represents "we the people" and does not get to decide on charity. They decide on law, on ethics. They conduct the business of the people, for the benefit of the people, for "We the People" not for individuals.