[vacri]

> Charity is not a legitimate role for government.

Charity is the raison d'être of government. A government is there to run your society. That means doing things for people, even if it's just printing passports and employing a police department.

[djrogers]

> printing passports and employing a police department.

You’re just making up an alternate definition for charity - that isn’t a valid argument.

[vacri]

If those things aren't charity, then let the red states relinquish the extra money they get from the blue states (+ texas), and see what happens to their police and other government services.

I am playing a little fast and loose with the definition of charity, yes, but so is the OP. "Charity" isn't "free money for you to play with" (that's "philanthropy"), it's "giving help to those who need help". Governments in the developed world have significant welfare costs, so it is just plain wrong that charity isn't the role of government.