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When it comes to charity, the poor give more
A person recieves free milk from the Milk from the Heart program which makes weekly deliveries to locations in Manhattan and the Bronx in New York City.
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If you're cash strapped -- and who isn't? -- this time of year can be tough. So, to help make ends meet, something has gotta be sacrificed from your spending budget. But if you are low income, it probably won't be your charitable giving, and here's why: Poorer folks tend to give more to charity than richer ones.
According to a study by the Chronicle of Philanthropy, those who earn $50,000 to $75,000 donate about eight percent of their discretionary income. That's twice as much -- percentage-wise -- as those making above $200,000.
"[It's] really a curious pattern... What we've been finding is that people that have less, give more," says Paul Piff, a researcher at UC Berkeley who has studied this phenomenon.
In one study, a classic psychological set-up called the Dictator Game in which respondents are given $10 and then asked how much they would like to donate to a stranger, researchers have found that individuals making less than $15,000 a year give away $7 on average. In comparison, high earners upwards of $200,000 or $250,000 only give away about $2 or $3.
"When you study the psychology of having less, you find that people on the lower ends of the economic ladder are a little more sensitive to the needs of other people, they are a little more empathetic and compassionate," says Piff.
On the other hand, Piff adds, "[Wealth] gets you to be a little more disengaged from other people, a little more focused on yourself and as a result it creates this kind of buffer between yourself and other people."
According to Piff, it's this buffer that may be holding high earners back from giving more.
This is interesting considering the average american is woefully prepared for their own retirement. Maybe the working rich are working on not becoming burdens on society once they are retired? This analysis completely ignores non-material charity, such as providing discounted services to individuals. It also ignores assistance given to individuals. Possibly the wealthy are more likely to focus on individuals in their community rather than organizations. Also, the rich may feel they are already donating enough to government-funded programs given the substantially higher taxes with rising income. Does anyone know what the breakdown look like if those were factored in?
This is interesting considering the average american is woefully prepared for their own retirement. Maybe the working rich are working on not becoming burdens on society once they are retired? This analysis completely ignores non-material charity, such as providing discounted services to individuals. It also ignores assistance given to individuals. Possibly the wealthy are more likely to focus on individuals in their community rather than organizations. Also, the rich may feel they are already donating enough to government-funded programs given the substantially higher taxes with rising income. Does anyone know what the breakdown look like if those were factored in?
This wasn't news. It was an opinion.
http://www.noranndillon.com/pardon-me-your-bias-is-showing
Thanks for this very interesting and thought provoking story. I heard part of it on the radio in my car and had to follow up on your web site. I certainly have noticed similar patterns of people's behavior in my life. As a teenager I was an exchange student in the southern Philippines and was stunned by how much very poor folks were willing to share, even with big awkward American me. Also, about the wealthiest of my relatives, we've always noticed that he is is the stingiest among us. Yes, perhaps as the article suggests, the closer we are to focusing on issues of our basic survival needs the more we recognize the importance of helping others meet their basic needs. I do believe, however, that each of us has the capacity to develop more compassion and empathy for others. Most of the world's religious traditions include mechanisms for promoting the development of these wholesome goals.
