My Neighbor's Keeper? Rethinking Responsibility and the Role of Government


 

Publication Date: August 2007

Publisher: Heritage Foundation (Washington, D.C.)

Author(s): Ryan Messmore

Research Area: Social conditions

Keywords: Religion; limited government; responsibility; care for poor

Type: Report

Coverage: United States

Abstract:

It is only when local communities based on personal interaction fail to provide for people's needs that government responsibility comes into play. Even in such cases, policy should acknowledge the responsibility that such institutions as families, neighborhoods, and churches have for their members and remove barriers and disincentives for them to act in personal ways to solve problems.