dear harry lime,

you are right on. check out the "new member experience" thread for some reasons for the lack of active participation.

my reasons are there, also a suggestion which i would love to see on its own thread, but don't know how to work this site.

"why not set up a distribution system, exactly like ebay (within ebay) which connects americans in need to donors who would like to bridge the gap between those needs, and our governments failures."

i understand the desire to revolutionize philanthropy, however the micro transactions that made ebay a huge success could also work to give americans in need some immediate relief. set up as a tax deductable non-profit donation system - corporations might even be inclined to donate. others may simply donate because its the right thing to do (they have more, someone else has not enough, they wish to share)

i really wish someone would publicly explain why onets focus has been so single mindedly on causes outside the u.s.

is it simply that there are not enough impoverished, homeless, hungry americans to make it a worthwhile cause?

is it simply the age old philosophical question that one senseless death is worth less than a million senseless deaths?

best wishes,

dafna