[greymule]

So "greed" applies to people who want to be paid for the goods and services they deliver. Perhaps these people give generously to charities of their own choosing, but they're greedy if somebody else thinks his own cause is entitled to free goods and services from them.

Well, why not? "Greed" already applies to people who object to having half their annual income confiscated, or who make more money than social engineers think is appropriate, or who don't give to panhandlers because they believe the money will go to drugs or booze, or who think that foreign aid that goes to line the pockets of third-world dictators is a waste.

Striker, if you belong to a LL organization and you want to donate your services, that's great. Naturally, if the organization requires that every member volunteer in some way and you choose umpiring, that's entirely up to you and them.

But I don't believe that an organization should expect somebody from the outside to work for nothing. It reminds me of years ago, when I owned a reasonably successful retail store, and people would come in and say, "I'm with [a religious organization, a charity, the Help-the-Poor Alliance, the Police Widows and Orphans Fund, the Save-the-Silverfish Foundation, etc.], and our cause is wonderful, so we'd like to purchase things from you with you not making any profit."

Incidentally, I umpire several charity games every year, usually as a favor to a friend. But I choose my own charities.

What I take issue with is (1) the tired depression-era argument that when somebody makes money, he somehow deprives someone else, and (2) the idea that people who act in their own self-interest, or who do not donate to somebody else's favorite charity, are greedy. Even the bleeding hearts I know have given up on those.