Peter Shergold

Sir,

I am one of those Australians that asks; where would we be without the do-gooders in our midst?

There is a publication ‘Pro Bono Australia’ that in its edition of 2010 listed 643 ‘not-for-profit’ enterprises and, according to the last decade’s trend, it will have many more of them listed in the 2011 edition soon be released.

In 2005, Adele Ferguson published in Business Review Weekly a feature ‘The Sacred Cow’ in which she disclosed that the religious institutions cost seventy billions dollars to the tax payer.

In this article with evident glee you tell us of your and your friends’ procuring from the government more unaccountable grants to all who have the ability to sniff the rain of dollars.

Sir, I do not know exactly why we elect someone to govern us but surely-not to have him or her give or grant our money to any one they choose.

Kings could do what they pleased. But we scuttled them. Should we, for the same reason throw overboard any grant giver?

These forms of social impact investment partnerships are worth considering.

Be aware even these can fail dismally !

Such failures easy enough to see around A* communities, where "social impact investment partnerships" funded by authorities (government, semi-government and others) all to often act so as to dominate their market, often starting with the elimination/prevention of competition.

Encouraging competing enterprises is known to benefit communities unlike obstructive activities towards competition.

Obstructive activities like refusal to issue valid leases to residential and business blocks remain far to common an obstructive practice with government support.

Government contributes to such obstruction through exempting and/or ignoring (and refusing aid for legal defenses/challenges), where these corporate landowners refuse to issue their tenants valid leases.

Government long contributed to lousy A* housing through exempting and/or ignoring as well as obstruction through "permit" laws, the abuse of "habitable" housing by these A* corporate landowners.

Third decade since sort provision of valid leases, yet remain moment to moment tenants whilst without valid leases...

polpak,

Grants distort the natural flow of commodity markets.

Grants are 'privileges' accorded to chosen sections of a community, at the expense of the rest.

Democracy is incompatible with privilege