When I use to be an active pastor, a friend of mine would send me $500 every year and tell me to give it out to the needy. I did and tried to give it to those who truly would benefit from some "found" money. I gave a $100 to Joe and Sarah. She was older, had lived alone for years and in some oddity, had taken in Joe that she found living on the river bank. Quite a pair and always scraping along the edges financially and in about every other way. And, then, John and Mary, had lost their house in a fire and after the initial burst of charity were barely surviving with their three kids. And, then I went down to the Tenderloin in San Francisco and gave the rest out to those on the streets. It made my friend feel good he said. The truth of the matter is that he should have been giving $50,000 (not to me but to some charity, he could well afford it.)
Many would say that is a no no--giving to feel good hardly seems the best motive. I guess the only one who would give a thumbs up is Thomas Hobbs, the 17th century German philosopher. Duty or in the Christian context, Christ commands it, is the best motive. Hobbes said no as he was in personal pain to see the plight of the poor and it made him feel good to give. Regardless, I can go with the Christ example or the feel good one if it helps someone. I still try to keep up the act even though my buddy is not sending me any bucks.
A recent, NY Times Magazine article dealt with the same general issue while demonstrating how giving by the wealthy could eliminate world poverty. Before your eyes glaze over with the idea that this is too lofty a notion, not really even if the concept is a little "head in the clouds". The author, Peter Singer, a Princeton Prof. has calculated what the rich would have to give to eliminate world poverty. Some of his illustions are really good. For instance, he compares wealthy giving or lack thereof (my interpretation) to walking by a shallow pond where a child is drowning. Would you go in to save the child? Well, many wouldn't or they aren't as it would mess up their nice shoes, clothes, etc.; however, think of what you could do--if you were wealthy and would wade in and save a life. Why not do it? You would still have plenty "preams" left as my brother would say.
These comments are pretty simplified but Bill Gates, for instance, has seen the "kid drowning." He realized that a half million children died a year from diseases that we have eradicated in America. They still die in the developing third world countries--they don't have the medicines to fight or prevent the diseases. The simple, sad, despicable fact is that the companies that make the medicines have no market in these countries and so kids die. Bill Gates Foundation provides the funds, creating the market and children are being saved. The analogy is that he is wading into the water to save the child. It is much more complicated but you get the idea.
Before we jump into the "nobody is home" look or say, the wealthy will never do this. Warren Buffet did. One interesting facet of the article is that the good Princeton prof only deals with the wealthy. His ideas present things I've never thought about: most of the wealthy would not have their wealth if we did not live in a country where it could be created. For instance, we have peace, we have markets, etc. and so there is the opportunity for those like Gates to make the money and so he owes something for this great opportunity. I like it.
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