While you are contributing to relieve one, you are drawing it from thousands who are even worse off than he. If Congress had the right to give anything, the amount is simply a matter of discretion, and they have as much right to give $20,000,000 as $20,000. If they have the right to give to one, they have the right to give to all; and, as the Constitution neither defines charity nor stipulates the amount, they are at liberty to give to any and everything which they may believe, or profess to believe, is a charity, and to any amount they may think proper. You can very easily perceive what a wide door this has opened for fraud and corruption and favoritism, on the one hand, and for robbing the people on the other. Congress has no right to give charity. Individual members may give as much of their own money as they please, but they have no right to touch a dollar of the public money for that purpose.

All politician's records should be made available for public knowledge. If you want to be a public servant, than serve...