I have always had the nagging feeling that rich people are less generous when it comes to charity giving. Well, it seems that I am right after all, based on the results of NVPC (National Volunteer and Philanthropic Centre) 2006 survey on philanthropic giving in Singapore. The results were published in The Straits Times article ‘In aid of the poorer or richer?’ by Willie Cheng (Sept 04, 2007). The survey results showed that lower-income earners donated a larger proportion of their income compared to higher-income earners. For example, those earning less than $1000 monthly donated 0.65% of their annual income while those earning in the range of $9000-$9,999 donated only 0.12% of their annual income. But it is not only the rich in Singapore who give less proportionately compared to the less well-off. In Britain, a study by Banks and Tanner showed that the richest 20% of households donated less than 1% of their expenditure while the poorest 10% donated 3%.
It seems counter-intuitive that the rich should give less compared to those who are poorer. Having their basic needs met and left with so much surplus wealth, the rich would feel much less pinch to donate some of their money compared to those who are struggling to make ends meet. Yet the reality is stranger than what our logic dictates.
So what might explain the tighter string-purses of the wealthy when it comes to charity giving? Perhaps the more affluent one is the more detached from the other segments of society, such as the needy and less fortunate, one becomes. As one grows richer, one’s circle of friends and acquaintances evolves as the rich tend to clique among themselves. This might result in the inability of the rich to fully comprehend the difficulties faced by the needy and less fortunate or become ignorant of the extent of the problem. This is especially true for those who grew up with silver teaspoons in their mouths. One might think that those among the rich who came from poor backgrounds would be more inclined to donate to charity. This may not always be true. Even those who saw their fate turn from rags-to-riches might forget what it meant to be poor with the passage of time or due to other social factors like peer pressure, and as a result be less generous than expected.
The parsimony of the rich toward philanthropic causes may also be a reflection of the apathy of the rich towards the less fortunate. The rich may feel that the suffering of the less fortunate is in no way attributable to their actions and thus should not be compelled to help them. They may argue that the poor and less fortunate only have themselves to blame or it is just their fate that they are mired in their unfortunate situations. However, such an argument is devoid of morality. As part of the larger society, the rich has an obligation to contribute back to it and help the other segments of society that require assistance. I am not suggesting that the rich has to support the needy and less fortunate financially all the way for doing so would be counter-productive. Donations from the rich should be used to fund education or programmes that will equip the needy and less fortunate with skills to enable them to break out of the cycle of poverty. As the saying goes “Give a man a fish and he will only live for one day, but teach him how to fish and he will live for a lifetime.”
It is inconceivable that the rich might be willing to splurge thousands or even millions on Lamborghinis, Rolexes and personal yachts or even planes but donate so little of their wealth to charity. Recently, there was a newspaper report of a late British tycoon who left one million for the upkeep of her dog. The rich has definitely got their priorities wrong. Such money could have been put to better use if donated to charities. I wonder what is the purpose of amassing so much wealth when one can only live finitely and that material possessions are merely transient. Is it because one becomes blinded by wealth the richer one gets so that they become only concerned with amassing ever-increasing amounts of wealth? Or is it the lack of moral guiding principles among rich people that has led to this perceived apathy towards the needy and less fortunate?
Whatever the reasons may be for the selfishness of the rich towards philanthropy, we should take heart in the fact that there are many out there who give whatever little they have to help the needy and less fortunate. It is this kind of spirit of giving and selflessness that should be encouraged.
2 comments:
Sometimes rich people have the attitude that people are poor through their own fault; especially those who have gone from rags to riches. My own dad is wealthy having built up his own business, and although I'm proud of him I can see a meanness in his attitude as well. For instance he wanted to help out at a local charity but was unimpressed (as a very organised and business minded person) with what he called their lack of organisation and didn't want to do what they had suggested, I think he felt that it was beneath him. He also has an attitude that because he managed to make a lot of money, people who don't do that must be lazy - so if anything he is less compassionate to the poor than someone who grew up with riches that they didn't work for.
He seems to have forgotten that a large part of his success is down to luck as well as his own work and that other people work just as hard their whole lives but circumstances dictate that they stay poor.
I agree as well that the rich tend to be isolated from the realities of life for the poor and as such don't realise the difficulties and the lack of opportunities that face so many people. They read right-wing newspapers that confirm their worst stereotypes of the less well-off, and their friends are all in the same position, hence they feel normal and forget just how lucky they really are.
Rich people easily get entrenched in their own lives and the preoccupation tends to be with holding onto what you've got and making more money rather than sharing with others. Caring about these issues can even be sneered at - you are seen as having a bleeding heart and a guilt complex and as being too idealistic (since nothing will really change).
Another factor that might explain the trend is simply that it's by counting every penny and being 'mean' that they have accumulated wealth; for rich people the habit is to save up their money in high interest bank accounts or make investments, not to just give it away and get no return. Taking this attitude through life is what has made and kept them so rich.
Thanks for the insightful comments.
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