Poor Give Greater Percent of Income to Charity

[Mindtoaster]

The less you have the more likely you are to give; that's what new research from the McClatchy group shows, backing up this long-held belief with hard data. According to the group's research, the poorest Americans give above their capacity, donating more in comparison than the most well off upper fifth of society. Not only does this group of low-income Americans give more of their income to charity, but double the percentage of income that the richest individuals in the study do.

This report confirms the opinion I formed during years of collecting canned goods as a Boy Scout. While walking through neighborhoods on chilly fall mornings, it was quite obvious that families who themselves would be considered in need by many, donated bags of canned goods bursting at the seams. While there were also some full bags in the more "well to do" areas of town, the generosity that flowed from low and lower-middle class homes was hard not to notice, even for a 13-year-old.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that poor people give a greater percentage of their income because they know someone or have personally been in a situation of need in the past. These smaller donors play an important role in charitable giving by supporting others through formal and informal donations, supporting causes and individuals in need that might otherwise go un-noticed.

While you won't see these donor's names etched in stone like their fellow givers who can afford to donate millions, the memories of thank you's and touched lives will continue to reward our most generous donors.

http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2009/0...me-to-charity/

Maybe charity isn't just a bourgeois guilt defense mechanism

[Dooga Aetrus Blackrazor]

Check out the crackpot comment. Apparently the "frugal lifestyle" of the wealthy could explain this phenomenon. I love how it's a "phenomenon." How about calling it an injustice?

That doesn't surprise me at all. It's barely even a guilt defense mechanism. It's typically a form of tax evasion. No one with a functioning conscience could live the lifestyle of many of the world's wealthy. You're regularly millionaire is one thing. The elite of the elite are another.

[Q]

I thought this was pretty common knowledge to socialists? I have the same experiences anyway.

[Die Neue Zeit]

I'm not surprised the least bit. I'll also add that the only donors that count are the working poor, the "lower-middle" workers, and the big-time philanthropers. "Middle-income" self-employed, managers, etc. don't like charity so much.

Check out the crackpot comment. Apparently the "frugal lifestyle" of the wealthy could explain this phenomenon. I love how it's a "phenomenon." How about calling it an injustice?

That doesn't surprise me at all. It's barely even a guilt defense mechanism. It's typically a form of tax evasion. No one with a functioning conscience could live the lifestyle of many of the world's wealthy. You're regularly millionaire is one thing. The elite of the elite are another.

It's a good thing to aim to donate a tenth or so of one's income after tax, even if there are "tax evasion" benefits associated with this charity.

[Mindtoaster]

I thought this was pretty common knowledge to socialists? I have the same experiences anyway.

I'd never really thought about it before, to be honest. Apparently its a commonly held belief everywhere though

[Panda Tse Tung]

Actually, this had already been proven in a study in the UK before.

[LOLseph Stalin]

It actually makes sense that the poor would generally give more though. They're the ones who live in poverty and would understand the hardship better than anybody else, Therefore it would be their first instinct to help others like them to get out of the hole. The wealthy on the other hand would have a totally different mentality about the whole thing. They would probably have the attitude of "Oh, these people are poor but they can get a better job to help themselves out". Of course, often times it's not even as simple as getting a new job. However, this still doesn't eliminate the fact that there can be some generous rich people who donate to these charities.