Charity Ministries and assorted other topics

[Ken]

Yes, the only way our Australian Menno congregations survive is by going through third parties. Josh is correct, Tasmania uses their seekers to do their online work for them. New South Wales uses their next door farmers to help out (similar to the Amish). So it is possible to live a 'non-internet' lifestyle but it is now impossible to completely live off grid anymore. Times have changed. Even the forms I used to fill out down the post-office, you can only find online half the time nowadays.

Americans tend to think they are cutting edge when it comes to online business and such. I find that not to be the case, at least when it comes to government business. We have Amazon, but our governments are way behind.

My wife's family is Chilean and we spend a lot of time down there. I have found the Chilean government to generally more online and more competently online than here in the US. I expect a lot of other modern countries like Australia are similar.

I think it is partly our decentralized form of government were every little town and county does it's own thing. In Chile many more of those things are handled by the national government. Like getting birth certificates and marriage certificates, for example. Or driver's licenses. They have a government records office in every town. But it is a national government office where you can do all your business from passport renewal to marriage license to child's birth certificate to driver's license. Unlike here where you are apt to deal with some county clerk or state DMV or some such. And they are all uniformly online.

Interestingly, a lot more people want to move to America than to “modern” countries like Chile or Australia.

Maybe all this high tech stuff and big government doesn’t actually make anyone happier.

I didn't say they were more modern. Just more competently online at the government level. Or do you think, for example, that the IRS is a world-wide model for how to run a tax agency online? And for the past decade, Chile has been flooded with illegal migrants just like the US. Mostly from Bolivia, Peru, Venezuela, Argentina, but also even places like Haiti which has sent over 100,000. https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation ... 90949.html I don't know Australia, but I understand it gets flooded with hopeful migrants too. But the sea barrier makes that somewhat more difficult to do for illegal migrants than countries like the US and Chile with enormously long land borders.

[Josh]

Just more competently online at the government level.

"competently online"

As if government somehow works better when it's all "online", as opposed to having local people working face-to-face with citizens to help govern together.

[aussieandy]

Americans tend to think they are cutting edge when it comes to online business and such. I find that not to be the case, at least when it comes to government business. We have Amazon, but our governments are way behind.

My wife's family is Chilean and we spend a lot of time down there. I have found the Chilean government to generally more online and more competently online than here in the US. I expect a lot of other modern countries like Australia are similar.

I think it is partly our decentralized form of government were every little town and county does it's own thing. In Chile many more of those things are handled by the national government. Like getting birth certificates and marriage certificates, for example. Or driver's licenses. They have a government records office in every town. But it is a national government office where you can do all your business from passport renewal to marriage license to child's birth certificate to driver's license. Unlike here where you are apt to deal with some county clerk or state DMV or some such. And they are all uniformly online.

Interestingly, a lot more people want to move to America than to “modern” countries like Chile or Australia.

Maybe all this high tech stuff and big government doesn’t actually make anyone happier.

I didn't say they were more modern. Just more competently online at the government level. Or do you think, for example, that the IRS is a world-wide model for how to run a tax agency online? And for the past decade, Chile has been flooded with illegal migrants just like the US. Mostly from Bolivia, Peru, Venezuela, Argentina, but also even places like Haiti which has sent over 100,000. https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation ... 90949.html I don't know Australia, but I understand it gets flooded with hopeful migrants too. But the sea barrier makes that somewhat more difficult to do for illegal migrants than countries like the US and Chile with enormously long land borders.

This is moving into the realm of politics which I’m trying not to engage in as it goes against the spirit of our confession to remain separate from the world.

But I will say this, help those in need. Treat people humanely and love thy neighbour including new immigrants. It’s not for us to determine who comes here or who doesn’t. All God’s people are equal.

[Judas Maccabeus]

Just more competently online at the government level.

"competently online"

As if government somehow works better when it's all "online", as opposed to having local people working face-to-face with citizens to help govern together.

In some places, online is better, because there is less chance to be hit up for a bribe.

J.M.