Can we replace the government with church?

Among small-government conservatives, a dream exists. A dream in which instead of paying taxes to Washington DC, we give to our local churches, who in turn take care of the poor, the sick, the troubled. It's an interesting dream. But is it feasible? Mark Grey of CARA, that is the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate crunches the numbers- and finds that we'd have to *significantly* increase collections to even come close. The average registered Catholic Family only gives $10/week through the Church. Maybe $10 billion nationwide. The US Government spends nearly a trillion on social welfare- the Church would be $990 billion short. Only if Charity is a Duty instead of a Choice could this stand any chance of working.