Boggles the Mind

From the March 26th issue of the Philadelphia Inquirer comes an inspiring story of a charitable and business-savvy citizen. (Sorry, no link available.)

Hal Taussig wears baggy jeans and fraying work shirts that Goodwill might reject. His shoes have been resoled three times. He bought his one suit from a thrift shop for $14.

Okay, fashion isn't quite his thing, so what, right?

And he has given away millions.

Given the fortune that Taussig has made through Untours, his unique travel business, and has given away through the Untours Foundation, you could call him the Un-millionaire. If he so chose, he could be living in a Main Line mansion and driving a Mercedes. But he considers money and what he calls "stuff," beyond what he needs to survive, a burden, an embarrassment.

Finally, a decent human being in the news! Someone who is not entirely motivated by greed and the need to seek fulfillment through the acquisition of "stuff". His is not a charity in the traditional sense. His foundation provides funding to entrepreneurs who have great potential to lift themselves out of poverty but limited access to capital. And Taussig does this the world over, from Philadelphia to South East Asia.

But then Ballista's head almost exploded after reading this sentence near the end of the article:

Taussig and his wife live on Social Security and savings from the modest wages Norma earned as a school secretary and Untours bookkeeper.

He makes millions but relies on government assistance? Now let's consider this. You could argue that he and his wife have been paying into Social Security for years and are entitled to their fair share. Except remember that they are not receiving their own money back. They are receiving money from today's taxpayers. Also remember that every estimates shows that the Social Security trust fund will be running out of money in 20 years or so. For those of you who attended public school, that means that soon there will be too damned many old people and too few working taxpayers to support Social Security. This couple who has no need for taxpayer-financed assistance are not helping any to stave of the looming crisis.

You might also argue that the Social Security payments are really transfers to the entrepreneurs funded by the foundation, since Taussig could simply pay himself more money from the business (which endows the foundation) if he so wished. Maybe, but this functionally means that American taxpayers are subsidizing Taussig twice over because he avoids taxes on the income he forgoes (in lieu of Social Security) from his business or foundation.

Don't get Ballista wrong, Taussig is surely a great guy - he runs a successful business and helps others start their own. Maybe the Social Security payment is small compared to their savings (even though they are described as "modest"). Of course, this now makes Ballista wonder why he has no savings. But isn't it a little perverse that someone who promotes self responsibility, and has the means to truly achieve it, lives partly on government assistance. Don't fool yourself, that's what Social Security is - it is not a personal retirement system. "A hand up, not a hand out." That's a quote in the article from Taussig about the philosophy of his foundation. It would just be nice if, in Taussig's case, that hand was not that of the American taxpayer.