> I don't really see a need to glorify this in the local news. He's just a man who can buy time to proselytize very cheaply. To me, the fact that he exists is a signal that our existing social safety nets are insufficient to set folks up with clean clothes, let alone get them into housing.
Ok that's true, but what's the economic return on proselytizing?
I'll take a free mug from a vendor at a software booth, why should laundry from a religious guy be any different?
Taxes to fund direct cash transfers and housing subsidies are being cut by a government run by zero sum pessimists. How is this guy involved in that?
Interesting question. I did a quick check. It looks to be incredibly profitable, at least for main stream religious organizations (which tend to also be tax free).
The two top links for googling "profit of church" are:
Eg: From CNN:
"
1. The Vatican Bank has $8 billion in assets
The Vatican Bank, which has about $8 billion in assets, has often been at the center of scandal and corruption since it was founded in 1942. Pope Benedict began the process of cleaning the bank up, and Francis has continued that work.
"
http://money.cnn.com/2015/09/24/news/pope-francis-visit-vati...
"
THE Sydney Catholic archdiocese controls funds worth more than $1.2 billion and has regularly made multi-million dollar tax-free profits.
The royal commission into child sex abuse heard the archdiocese banked surpluses of between $7.7 million and $44 million between 2004 and 2007, a period during which the Catholic church was aggressively defending a claim for $100,000 brought against it by former altar boy John Ellis.
"
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/latest-news/church-stil...
It's not Mr. Powers' fault, but it is our responsibility as sensible voters to fix a situation in which he appears to be the best option for getting your clothes washed. We have come to a point where some folks do not have enough money to regularly go to a laundromat. That outcome was a direct result of the people we voted into office, and the priorities we expressed to them.
I believe it's important for us to distinguish between charitable actors that ask nothing and those that clearly expect something in return. I'm not willing to lionize the latter, nor do I think such an approach is particularly newsworthy.
Ok that's true, but what's the economic return on proselytizing?
I'll take a free mug from a vendor at a software booth, why should laundry from a religious guy be any different?
Taxes to fund direct cash transfers and housing subsidies are being cut by a government run by zero sum pessimists. How is this guy involved in that?