Rob Reiner and Mrs Pardiggle

In Bleak House ,Dickens' novel about an involved chancery case but really about charity and charitable impulses, there is a character named Mrs. Pardiggle who speaks about charitable impulses.  Dickens introduces her five sons who contribute their entire allowance to worthy causes.  In an exchange outside of Mom's ears the following takes place - Egbert complains about the forced charity.

"As soon as we were out of doors, Egbert, with the manner of a little footpad, demanded a shilling of me, on the ground that his pocket-money was “boned” from him. On my pointing out the great impropriety of the word, especially in connexion with his parent (for he added sulkily “By her!”), he pinched me and said, “O then! Now! Who are you! You wouldn’t like it, I think? What does she make a sham for, and pretend to give me money, and take it away again? Why do you call it my allowance, and never let me spend it?” 

It seems that Mr. Reiner is a lot like Mrs. Pardiggle.  First he creates a tax scheme to fund some early childhood educational activities and then instead of using the money for its intended purpose uses it to promote a new initiative which would create a universal system of preschool in the state.  All the while he claims a superior authority because of the cause he supports.  At a minimum, were he in a §501 (c)(3) he might well be asked to refund the money he has spent on a blatantly political quest.  If he really cared about long term policy in the areas that he has worked in he would do a lot by raising money for his causes from more voluntary sources.

Tax policy which carves out specific grants is foolish policy.  Reiner should not be such a meathead.  As with Mrs. Pardiggle in Bleak House maybe these seemingly public spirited impulses are more about him than the policy. Perhaps Archie Bunker was right.