Being compassionate: With Other People's Money

THERE COMES A TIME when a man has to stand up for what's right... Around 1830 the U.S. House of Representatives was considering a bill which would authorize a pension, appropriated from the general revenue, for a widow lady whose husband, an officer who had served in the War of 1812, had recently died, leaving her without any means of support. The bill was on its way to receiving nearly unanimous support for passage, when up stepped a hillbilly from the state of Tennessee, Congressman David Crockett. He gave his "it aint ours to give" speech, in which he argued that all public money should be spent on projects for the benefit of the entire nation, the entire population, rather than selected individuals. After all, he argued, there are many individuals who could use a little financial help, but the nation as a whole was in need of a whole heap of help. As usual, when Congressman Crockett was speaking, and butchering the language, the more sophisticated members from the east grinned at him derisively, and he could tell that his viewpoint was going to be taken as an indication of a lack of compassion. So the Congressman made a proposal: we all get paid eight dollars a day, said Crockett, which usually amounted to about forty dollars a week. At that time there were about fifty members of the House, instead of the familiar four hundred and thirty five we have today. Davy reasoned that if each member chipped in one week's Congressional pay each year, for the duration of the widow's life, why then, the lady would be guaranteed a steady income for the rest of her life. He offered to put in the first forty dollars, and asked, "who's next"? Guess how many takers he had? You guessed right: zero. Far easier to show compassion with other people's money. it seems.