Lotta people talk about charity as a replacement for government services, but folks give around 3% of their income to charity (tax deductible) in the US. That ain't gonna get it done. Not even close.

People would have you believe they would give more if they didn't pay as much in taxes, but there is not one shred of evidence that is the case based on variations in local tax rates. And that's a hell of a gap to bridge based on a such a dubious promise.

Occam's razor, and the available evidence, suggests that people would just pocket the difference and the poor can go to hell. They're happy to argue the point until they're blue in the face, but if the past year has taught us nothing at all, it's that people are more than capable of crafting any number of passionate arguments around their self-interest, truth be damned.