January 2011 Entries
By this time of January, the holiday glow is off, but with it comes time to reflect on what just occurred.
At Christmas, we take time as a family to sit down and make monetary gifts as a family. Typically, we make allocations according to age—the older ones get more to give away. (We may be ending that practice soon given what I witnessed among my younger boys.)
Let me say that children, my own included, amaze me. Their capacity to think and feel is far richer than I credit them. So here’s our scenario: we are sitting around the living room talking about where we want...
posted @ Tuesday, January 25, 2011 9:48 AM |
Do you believe that Americans are greedy?
I saw an advertisement recently for a documentary called American Greed. Truthfully, I reacted a bit. While we’ve seen certain politicians call out American greed and our lack of attention to the poor, I found myself pausing.
Aren’t Americans known for their generosity? When tragedy strikes, it’s Americans who rush in and provide relief. Is there any other country in the world known for their giving like the United States. America values generosity so much that they encourage it as a matter of public policy.
Now I know as well that Americans are known as well for their consumerism. Whether its spending...
posted @ Sunday, January 16, 2011 1:52 PM |
Bill Gates and Warren Buffett have generated quite the buzz by encouraging billionaires to have 50% of their wealth to charity. In July, the Chronicle of Philanthropy provided an interest report on the habits of the wealthy in their giving.
From 1992 to 2007, America’s top 400 earners reported giving a low of 3.5% to a high of 10.8% of their income in any one single year. In general, the top 400 earners hovered around the 8% mark in terms of giving a percentage of their income. The 8% mark compares to the 2.1% median giving percentage for all Americans.
So on average the...
posted @ Friday, January 07, 2011 3:46 PM |