It proved difficult to employ them on a profitable basis, however, and during the 18th century workhouses tended to degenerate into mixed receptacles where every type of pauper, whether needy or criminal, young or old, infirm, healthy, or insane, was dumped.
Whether a need deserves the moral priority as indicated depends entirely upon whether the needy person would be not well off if the need in question were not fulfilled.
Humane in that it provides appropriate care and support to those in need, whether those needy are elderly, the poor, the sick, etc. Humane doesn't mean everyone has the right to eat filet mignon, drive a sports car and receive on-demand knee replacement surgery but it does mean everyone has the right to a decent life.
To return to the questions for prioritizing participants over non-participants (whether equally needy or needier): Net Instance implies that sometimes there is a stronger prima facie reason to benefit a participant who has borne a substantial net risk or burden through participating, than to benefit an equally needy non-participant.
When it comes to the remuneration of employees, the Old Testament makes no distinction between the indigenous population and resident aliens: "Do not take advantage of a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether that worker is a fellow Israelite or a foreigner residing in one of your towns".
And its hard to not to preach that the Torah teaches us: "You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is of your brothers, or of your strangers who are in your land inside your gates" (Deuteronomy 24:14).
"The details of this are not all ironed out, but they all mitigate for helping the poorest and neediest in our society, whether they're Supplemental Security Income recipients, whether they're 80 and older or whether they're truly needy in-between," said Pelosi, adding it was "worth making a compromise" to avoid going over the fiscal cliff.
The state has ended a day-old program that required pharmacists to decide whether poor and medically needy patients should pay a fee for prescriptions that had been free.
Reflecting on this principle Singer argues that it entails extensive duties to assist needy others, whether they be geographically proximate or not.
In Deuteronomy, we read: "You shall not withhold the wages of poor and needy laborers, whether your own people or aliens who reside in your land".
It was December 2007 and in the midst of completing the adoption of Samantha, the Carrs were studying the pictures of hundreds of children who were available for adoption, trying to decide whether to bring one last needy child home.
