Thought this observation from Ken Stern's "
Why the Rich Don't Give to Charity" article speaks volumes:
Not surprising that the rich sometimes simply support the rich and do not do much for the poor. How do you see it?
Hi Bob,
ReplyDeleteAs much as I wish otherwise, I believe the rich donating to hospitals, universities, etc. is largely an act of self-promotion. Big money contributors to such places have buildings or hospital wings named after them, unless said contributors have made it a stipulation of the donation that it not be done. I am not saying that all rich people are of this mindset, some start their own foundations to meet a great need they have personally experienced or that has moved their hearts in some way. These are not the idle rich, but those who have worked their way up from nothing and want to help others do the same or at least ive a little better.
I agree crownring. In the article Ken Stern speaks to how people who live in closer proximity to the poor are more likely to donate to charities that hep the poor.
DeleteI agree with you and crownring. Although donations to hospitals, museums and universities are needed, they are the only ones that yield lot of recognition, fancy galas and your name in print and stone. Giving to the poor is recognized only by the poor and those who serve the poor.
ReplyDeleteAlthough this is not true of all very Rich people, I believe that many of them not concerned about those who "have not." Most of them believe the poor have not earned more than they have and money given to them is wasted. At this point I could quote Mitt Romney but I think most people now know his speech about "the 47%" by heart.
The poor have been demonized by the Rich and politically influential (the name Koch comes to mind). The best way to get a majority of American voters to oppose social programs (and reduce ones tax burden) is to convince them that the recipients of all social programs (entitlements) refuse to take responsibility for themselves. They would rather live off the taxes paid by hard working Americans. How many times have you heard that Obama is the food stamp president and the more food stamps he distributes the more votes he receives? You might think that these people have forgotten that the current recession resulted from the Rich playing Ponzi with our big banks. But, you would be wrong! They actually think that the poor people bought houses that they knew they couldn't afford because Bill Clinton told the banks to do it. Yep, it's those shiftless poor people again.
A very Christian, good friend of mine once forwarded an email that listed all the most important verses in the Bible. It said that if you know these verses only you will still be able to handle all of life's demands. I sent it back to him with a note saying that it lacked two of my favorite parts of the Bible. Matthew 25: The Sheep and the Goats, and Matthew 5: The Beatitudes.
Too many people ignore Matthew 25 and the clear, simple demands that it makes on each of us. Demands that are inconvenient.
True Joe. Some rich folks are not too concerned about the poor. Looking at the tax returns of many politicos (Rep & Dem alike) gives us an idea of what they really think about helping the poor.
DeleteI am not a fan of Limbaugh but his disciples seem to be criticizing Elizabeth Warren for slamming Obama's social security cuts because her brother only gets $13k a year. These feel that she is not helping her brother but I think that she probably does.
Just saw on the TV that the prez and vp just released their 2012 tax returns. NBC reported an 18% rate for the prez. The prez and wife gave over $100k to a veterans group and other one-time gifts totaling $150k to diverse educational, research and other charities. The vp and wife gave a little over $5k ($2k in noncash donations) to charity. Interesting difference between the charitable attitudes of the prez and vp. More details here.
DeleteAlso interesting to see the charitable attitudes in the tax returns of previous presidents here.
DeleteA $5k cash donation on the VP and wife's joint income is beans.
ReplyDeleteI watched an interesting segment on the book review program on Cspan this morning. The book was about Social Security. Very enlightening. And a depressing outlook for the program and the people who depend on it - which is most people.