At the end of the year it is common to have a host of charities come knocking at one's mailbox or email address, seeking donations in support of their cause.  Some of these are very beneficial, others can be little more than scams with very little going to the people they are purporting to help.  At such times it is important to remember what the giving of charity should be about.  The real purpose of charity is to see that a person doesn't need charity, or only needs it for a short period of time.  Too often this principle is violated,  especially so by the largess of governments who seem to prefer to foster dependency as a way of legitimizing their continued power.  When was the last time a governmental program was cancelled because it was no longer needed?