Why dont you give away your money to poor people?

[Hellmouth]

[ QUOTE ]
Alot of people around here are making alot of money. I am just curious why I dont see alot of threads about donating the majority of people's earnings to charity? Why do people buy Porsches and Jaguars when others are homeless? Why do we buy gold, when others are starving to death? have you people no shame? Why arent you giving your money to poor people?

[/ QUOTE ]

Because I believe in capatilism not communism.

Greg

[TomBrooks]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Most poor people are poor because they choose to be. If you gave them a lot of money, most of them would find a way to go through it and become poor again.

[/ QUOTE ]children in Africa...I'm really hoping this post was just a joke - because if it's not, it may be one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard. [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]
I'm not sure if it applies to children in third world countries, but it certainly applies to people in developed countries where opportunities for success and prosperity abound.

[shermn27]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm not sure if it applies to children in third world countries, but it certainly applies to people in developed countries where opportunities for success and prosperity abound.

[/ QUOTE ]

This appears to address some issues of equality. My question is this:

Do you really believe that opportunities for success and prosperity are abound in America? This may be true for those people who are born into at least some fortune. Imagine if you were born addicted to cocaine in the slums of any major US city? Do you really think you would have an "equal" opportunity for success that everyone else has? Do you really think your "free" education would allow you to be successful? Could you afford to get further education? Where would that money come from? One might offer that if this individual worked hard in his/her studies he/she might be successful. But seriously, how many crack babies have the genetic intellectual capacity to be successful?

Just some thoughts for those who think that the "American Dream" of being equal and being whatever you choose to be in life exists for everyone.

[shermn27]

If you really want to know why people don't give their money to poor people the answer is quite simple. Using the equation for behavior, we notice that behavior is a function of ability and motivation.

f(Ability x Motivation) = Behavior

Given this model we can examine two reasons why people don't make the "behavior" you suggest (Give money to poor people).

The first is ability - As some in this post have mentioned, they don't have the money themselves to give it to other people. However, I would argue (judging by the responses) that only a minority of the people you are asking to give money to poor people are in this situation.

A more overwhelming majority it appears is "lacking" in the motivation for giving money to poor people. So this begs the question "Why give money to poor people?" What is one's motivation for doing so?

Some people give money to poor people because they think "They need it more than I do." Perfectly justifiable reason for giving them money. Some people give money to poor people because it makes them feel good. Others give money to poor people because as they claim they are "altruistic." I however feel that this is mularky and that altruism does not exist, this people just help people because it makes them feel better. (Being altruistic has motivations at the self level too, no matter how you think about it.)

So to answer your question more directly, why don't people give money to poor people and why do you? - It appears to me that you are more motivated to do so b/c it makes you "feel good about yourself" whereas others are not motivated to do so b/c it doesn't make them feel as good as it makes you feel.

In any case, you see that we are all greedy - You are greedy because of your desire to feel good about yourself, you give to poor people. Others are greedy because they want to keep the money for themselves. In any case, everyone just wants to make oneself feel good.

Personally, I fall more into your category. I get a great sense of feeling about myself when I help others (i.e. by a bum a ham sandwich), however I do recognize that others do not get the same feeling I do from such activity and that that does not make them any better or worse than myself b/c we are both acting in ways which make us feel better.

In summation, the next time you wonder why someone does or does not do something - use the behavioral model I outlined above. It seems to answer lots of questions. Hope this helps and leaves many more enlightened.

[TomBrooks]

>Do you really believe that opportunities for success and prosperity are abound in America?

Very much so.

>This may be true for those people who are born into at least some fortune.

It's true for virtually everyone.

> Imagine if you were born addicted to cocaine in the slums of any major US city? Do you really think you would have an "equal" opportunity for success that everyone else has?

Virtually equal. The difference in where you start from are relatively minor in comparison to other factors under every persons control.

> Do you really think your "free" education would allow you to be successful?

Absolutely

> Could you afford to get further education?

Absolutely

> Where would that money come from?

The Government provides an adequate, if not excellent education to anyone who would like to take advantage of it.

> how many crack babies have the genetic intellectual capacity to be successful?

I'm not familiar with crack babies, so I'll go so far as to say this is true for everyone with the possible exception of crack babies.

[revots33]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm not sure if it applies to children in third world countries, but it certainly applies to people in developed countries where opportunities for success and prosperity abound.

[/ QUOTE ]

So, your position is that everyone in the United States who is poor, is in that position only because of thier own unwillingness to work hard enough to change their circumstances?

To call that an oversimplification of a very complex social problem, would be the understatement of the year. Try reading "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich. There's a lot of poor people in this country who are working their asses off and barely making it.

And your original comment implies that helping those in poverty isn't worth it, because they'd only waste the money and be poor again. Is this theory based on any facts or statistics - or simply on your personal prejudices against poor people?

[oneeye13]

[ QUOTE ]
My wealth is not at the expense of the poor. The poor are not poor because I am rich. While poker is a zero sum game, life is not. Wealth is created. I feel sorry for a lot of people in the world -- but my money isn't going to do a damn thing for them. Getting away from liberals and socialists who preach income redistribution, zero sum economics and government solutions will help them.

There will always be poor -- as long as there are liberals.

[/ QUOTE ]

Must be tough having a computer.

[Your Mom]

I don't think there is a solution to poverty. Some people are too dumb to figure out how to get a job and get an apartment. I'm not smart enough to figure out world poverty i.e. Africa, India, etc.

[Your Mom]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I'm not sure if it applies to children in third world countries, but it certainly applies to people in developed countries where opportunities for success and prosperity abound.

[/ QUOTE ]

This appears to address some issues of equality. My question is this:

Do you really believe that opportunities for success and prosperity are abound in America? This may be true for those people who are born into at least some fortune. Imagine if you were born addicted to cocaine in the slums of any major US city? Do you really think you would have an "equal" opportunity for success that everyone else has? Do you really think your "free" education would allow you to be successful? Could you afford to get further education? Where would that money come from? One might offer that if this individual worked hard in his/her studies he/she might be successful. But seriously, how many crack babies have the genetic intellectual capacity to be successful?

Just some thoughts for those who think that the "American Dream" of being equal and being whatever you choose to be in life exists for everyone.

[/ QUOTE ]

Are you familiar with the thousands of immigrants who come to this country not speaking a word of English and flourish in this country?

[Your Mom]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I'm not sure if it applies to children in third world countries, but it certainly applies to people in developed countries where opportunities for success and prosperity abound.

[/ QUOTE ]

So, your position is that everyone in the United States who is poor, is in that position only because of thier own unwillingness to work hard enough to change their circumstances?

To call that an oversimplification of a very complex social problem, would be the understatement of the year. Try reading "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich. There's a lot of poor people in this country who are working their asses off and barely making it.

And your original comment implies that helping those in poverty isn't worth it, because they'd only waste the money and be poor again. Is this theory based on any facts or statistics - or simply on your personal prejudices against poor people?

[/ QUOTE ]

Poor people in this country have cell phones and cable. I don't buy this crap. Other than the handicapped and war veterans, I don't feel sorry for poor people in this country.