"In the meantime, we see there are charities that spend much of their scarce resources that should be going directly to the children to overcome this gulf that separates them from both the donors and the needy"
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“In the meantime” does a lot of work here: it frames the problem as urgent, ongoing, and solvable if only we stop wasting time and money. Rohrabacher’s target isn’t child poverty in the abstract; it’s the machinery of modern philanthropy, where the act of giving is often mediated by institutions that have to market, administer, and justify their existence. He compresses that entire ecosystem into a moral inefficiency: “scarce resources” being diverted away from “the children.” The phrase “should be going directly” isn’t just a budgeting preference. It’s a moral claim dressed up as common sense.
The most telling word is “gulf.” It casts the relationship between “donors and the needy” as a natural chasm, something large, cold, and structural. Then he implies charities spend resources to “overcome” that gulf, as if transparency, accountability, fundraising, and oversight are luxuries - or even self-serving obstacles - rather than the basic infrastructure that keeps aid from becoming chaotic, corrupt, or merely performative.
As a politician, Rohrabacher is also signaling a broader conservative suspicion of intermediaries: nonprofits as a kind of unaccountable bureaucracy, parallel to government itself. The line lets him champion compassion while indicting the institutions that operationalize it. It flatters donors (your intent is pure) and pities recipients (you’re distant, unreachable), while positioning “direct” giving as the cleaner, more authentic alternative - even though “direct” aid often still requires systems, staff, and verification to actually reach children and not just soothe donor conscience.
The most telling word is “gulf.” It casts the relationship between “donors and the needy” as a natural chasm, something large, cold, and structural. Then he implies charities spend resources to “overcome” that gulf, as if transparency, accountability, fundraising, and oversight are luxuries - or even self-serving obstacles - rather than the basic infrastructure that keeps aid from becoming chaotic, corrupt, or merely performative.
As a politician, Rohrabacher is also signaling a broader conservative suspicion of intermediaries: nonprofits as a kind of unaccountable bureaucracy, parallel to government itself. The line lets him champion compassion while indicting the institutions that operationalize it. It flatters donors (your intent is pure) and pities recipients (you’re distant, unreachable), while positioning “direct” giving as the cleaner, more authentic alternative - even though “direct” aid often still requires systems, staff, and verification to actually reach children and not just soothe donor conscience.
Quote Details
| Topic | Justice |
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