This is really sad. A beautiful and generous gesture, the donation of many millions of dollars to victims by millions of Americans, was basically spat on by the government which ran right over it with its offering of taxpayer money.

This is an excellent example of the difference between government "generosity" and private generosity.

When people give to others of their own accord, the givers feel benevolent toward the recipients, and the recipients are typically grateful.

When the government hands out money, things are different. An "entitlement" syndrome develops, and the recipients get the idea that they have a right to such money.

How many times have you heard some person (or interest group) stand up and complain that government welfare benefits, government medical benefits, government retirement benefits, are not big enough? That they demand more? Demand. Not ask. Very few people believe that this person is acting badly, and in fact most people expect nothing else.

Yet imagine this same person, given a gift by a neighbor. Is it likely that he would look the neighbor in the eye and demand a bigger gift?

Yet, despite the "laundering" through the government till, the benefit money they receive is no less a gift from their neighbors.

This is the "entitlement" culture that has been nurtured and encouraged by the left in this country for fifty years. We now have millions of citizens who not only immediately make demands of the government under almost any unpleasant circumstance or emergency, we have millions of citizens who are actually mentally incapable of imagining any other solution to their problem. An ideal Democratic voter--enslaved to the government.

Another result is a society where people in need are seen, at least subconciously, as threats to their fellow citizens instead of as someone who should receive our help. If I told you it was because there is no place for a gun in charitable works, you probably wouldn't know what I was talking about.