More of the same

One day in high school, I took a small gift to my math teacher and told her that it was free gratis for nothing without costing a cent. She immediately asked me to repeat that over again once more.

This column is repeating my diatribe on County grants to not-for-profits over again once more, knowing that it will not be free gratis for nothing without costing a cent.

Shortly after my column on Honest Graft about potential abuses of the government giving large grants to local not-for-profits, the County announced its annual giveaway program for 2025. It is seeking not-for-profit grant applicants. (Editor’s note: Click here for more information.)

Rumor had it that Riverview Hospital was not meeting budget and was going to be one of the applicants. I reached out to Riverview’s CEO, and he advised that Riverview was not seeking not-for-profit grant money. If 350,000 persons in Hamilton County decide how much they want to give to STEA4M, Red Cross, or the Lions Club, what logic is there in taxing everyone to make a different distribution? It is the County picking winners and losers. (STEA4M is my law firm’s charitable foundation that can collect and give away funds to charity without governmental assistance.)

One argument is that some of the not-for-profits are doing jobs that the County would otherwise be required to do, such as the Humane Society. Hamilton County already has several dog ordinances. It is already an offense to let an animal run at large. Additionally, each person who owns a dog or cat must ensure that it bears a permanent means of identification. If animals are being identified by owner, and owners are required not to permit the animal to run at large, wouldn’t it just be simpler to enforce the ordinances we have? What we reward, we get more of.

In a year when hundreds of people have gone to the Statehouse to protest high taxes, do Hamilton County residents really need to be taxed so that the County can give money away to not-for-profits? The main assembly room in the Courthouse says: “That Government Is Best Which Governs Least.” The quote is generally thought to have originated with Thoreau, although some ascribe it to Thomas Jefferson.

Are Hamilton County not-for-profits so poorly operated, or thought so little of, that they need governmental assistance?

My vote is for less government and lower taxes.

Ray Adler is a longtime attorney with offices at The Adler Building, 136 S. 9th St., Downtown Noblesville. He is also one of the owners of The Hamilton County Reporter Newspaper.