Posted by by Fr. Steven Kostoff (dcalvert) on 8/27/2007, 4:13 pm
Dear Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,
"It is more blessed to give than to receive." (ACTS 20:35)
On Friday evening, I watched the latest installment of 20/20 on ABC. I believe that this particular program specializes in "investigative journalism." I found the over-all production value of the show rather mediocre and further found myself getting a bit irritated with the style of the "host/investigative journalist." Be that as it may, I continued watching because of the show's content for the evening. I am forgetting the title of the featured subject, but it had to do with charitable giving in America. Who gives? How much is given? What are the motives for giving? I wanted to share something of what I learned because each and every one of us is always being deeply challenged about our own capacity and responsiveness to others in need. Charity is not an "option" for a Christian. The Lord Jesus Christ spoke about when , not if, when teaching about almsgiving. That does not mean it should be perceived as a burdensome duty either. Rather, the Apostle Paul speaks about being "cheerful givers."
I did learn that as a nation, the United States gave away $28 billion in foreign aid in 2005, and that placed us 20th among the 22 major donor countries of the world. Not very encouraging, considering our over-all wealth and general affluence. However, it was also revealed that American citizens, our private philanthropy if you like, was responsible for giving $33.5 billion in foreign aid during that same time period. And immigrants have sent a staggering $62 billion "back home" to families and friends. Thus, in terms of private philanthropy, "No other country even comes close," according to Arthur Brooks, professor of public administration at Syracuse University in New York. Another example reinforces these facts: the United States govenrment pledged $900 million in relief following the Tsunami disaster of a couple of years ago, while Americans individually gave about $2 billion.
Trying to summarize a good deal of facts and figures as best as possible, I discovered some very interesting trends. According to the same Arthur Brooks cited above, who wrote "Who Really Cares" (I am not sure if that is a title of a book or an article): "when you look at the data, it turns out the conservatives give about 30 per cent more" (than liberals, as the context of that statement makes clear). Brooks further adds: "And incidentally, conservative-headed families make slightly less money." The above was based on a comparison of the giving patterns in rural and religious Sioux Falls, S.D. (where half the population goes to church every week) and predominantly liberal San Francisco (where 14 percent of the population goes to church every week - that sounds a liitle high for San Francisco doesn't it?). The program made it clear that the perception that "liberals" give more than "conservatives" is actually "a myth." Our program host stated that: "Of the top 25 states where people give an above average percent of their income, 24 were red states in the last presidential election." In fact, the people who disagree with the statement, "The government has a basic responsibility to take care of the people who can't take care of themselves," are 27 percent more likely to give to charity. Rather interesting and revealing findings.
Who, then, gives the most? Either the "rich" (here defined as people with an income over $1 million - 7 percent of the population) or the working poor (something like $35,000 on down). According to Brooks: "The two most generous groups in America are the rich and the working poor. The middle class gives the least." Now that is very interesting data, and I am sure that it refers to "proportional giving," at least when comparing the rich and the working poor. In fact, according to the Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey (whatever that is), "people at the lower end of the income scale give almost 30 percent more of their income." I would very much want to study further the factors involved in holding the middle class back from "competing" with the rich and the working poor - proportionally, that is - on the level of charitable giving. My own opinion is that the vast majority of the "middle class" lives to its limits - or far beyond - of their financial means. This usually translates into high credit card and other forms of debt that then add pressures, strain and anxiety that in turn only serve to make spending and use of income much more "insular." But, that, again is simply my opinion.
It is estimated that American gave away $300 billion in charity last year (I am assuming that this does not include the financial support of churches, which are not charities!). That comes to about $1,000 per person. For those who like standards of comparison, that may serve as a good one - as well as a challenge.
I will add a bit more on Wednesday with a very topical subject for us as a parish that I picked up from this 20/20 program.
Fr. Steven C. Kostoff
Christ the Savior/Holy Spirit Orthodox Church
http://www.christthesavioroca.org
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