Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Cheap in America : Who Gives More? - ABC News

Cheap in America : Who Gives More? - ABC News

25 comments:

Mike3rd said...

It was surprising to me that low-income Americans are more likely to give to charity than high-income Americans. I think they probably do more because they understand what they're going through and can empathize with them. It doesn't surprise me, however, that religious people are more likely to give to charity.

Justin said...

I think its interesting how the middle class seems to give less of their money than the rich or the poor. It was also cool how the midwest was shown to give more than bigger cities like San Fransisco. One of the reasons for this is probably because of the religious factor that they mentioned and the midwest tends to be more religious than in bigger cities.

Jacqueline said...

Ooops I meant to post the comment for this video. I dont know how accurate the San Fransico and South Dakota test can be, because it may be Democrat or Republican as a whole,but there is a mix of each party in both areas. One other statistic that suprised me was that the middle class gave the least percentage wise. The working poor class are the ones that give the most to charity, but not the poor people on welfare. I think as a whole America is a very generous and caring country but to try and break it down into what group gives more can be very inaccurate.

Tom said...

I thought it was very interesting to find that the poorer class people tended to give more in comparison to their income then the richer portion of our society. I would think people like Bill Gates and the super rich people would give a lot of money. I also found it interesting that out the two charities, the rural charity obtained more money then the in city one.

Tyler said...

Now I am laughing. Laughing at every single person saying Conservatives are heartless and greedy without any basis. I'm not saying one group is more caring than the other, it's probably just that conservatives tend not to trust their government with their money. However, these statistics show how much Conservatives actually do care about the needy.
The middle class and their giving ethic surprise me. It might have to do with the region and other factors, but there really no excuse. The middle class better shape up! I give my tithe, why can't you?

Nathan said...

Leaving political parties aside, the largest determining factor if someone is going to give is religious participation. I found it interesting that the more wealthy San Francisco had half of the money that Souix Falls had. Giving is a matter of personal philosophy, some do, some dont.

Nathan said...

Putting political affiliation aside, religious beliefs and participation are the leading factors that cause people to give. Giving comes down to personal philosophy as well. It is a good thing that people still give despite economic circumstances.

Caitie said...

It's pretty common in America for us to think that the rich and upper class generally give more to charity. Low-income families are more willing to give up part of the income for a greater cause. While liberals and liberal states tend to make more money, it showed that the conservative states are giving more. Religon is a really big factor and it was interesting to see how people giving money to church would lead to them giving money to charity.

Chelsea said...

I'm not really surprised that lower income Americans are more likely to give. Generally lower income people appreciate what they have more and seem to be more generous and tend to give excess money away. Higher income people tend to be caught up in having a large savings account or buying a new car and are not directly effected by the need for charity. They do not understand how much money charities need. I do understand a lot of high income people do give to charity though.

Sgt. Pepper said...

It wasn't necessarily surprising to me that people who classify themselves as religious tend to give more money than those who don't. However, it was interesting to find out that the middle class gives much less than the rich and especially the working poor. I suppose that it shows something about how Americans view themselves, and what their perception of wealh is depending on their social standing.

Percy said...

Who gives more i like this article because it shows that just because you are more endowed with money that doesnt mean that you give more on average poor people give more i believe its because poor people understand what it is to struggle and need this is why they are so generous to one another. I liked this video

Garin said...

It doesn't really surprise me that conservatives give more. They tend to be more "religious," and religion was the main factor he gave for what people give. Non-religious people, if they give, tend to do it because it makes them "feel good," while those who are religious do it because they feel called or because they have compassion for the needy. I would be interested to know if all religions produce such a propensity for giving in their followers or if that is something particularly Christian.

grant5 said...

it's comforting to know that as individuals, Americans are the most generous. Its even more interesting to see that it's our country's poorer working class that donates the highest percentage of their income

Peter said...

I believe this video shows how split our country really is when it comes to economic trends. The rich donate a lot of money but on the scale of how much money they make it is only slightly higher than that of the middle class. On the other hand I don't think you can really say that the poor are more generous. Just because they donate a higher percent of their salary doesn't mean that they are donating a lot of money. One dollar is a higher percent of someone who makes $30,000 a year than someone who makes $300,000.

Colonel Mustard said...

It definitely is weird how the middle class of america doesn't give as much as the poor or rich. You'd think it'd be a line from rich to poor from more to less. It is in percentage though so a dollar from a rich is less than from the poor. I would be very discouraged if I had to work for my money why people made the same as me and didn't have to work for it. I'm glad that America gives, because they do, and anyone that says they don't is lying.

Bruce said...

I wasn't all that surprised when San Francisco’s bucket had half as much money as Sioux City's. I think in small towns there is a stronger sense of community and the people don't mind helping others out so then they donate their time or money for a charitable cause. I did find it interesting that the poor working class was more likely to donate to a charitable cause. I think it is because they have been in the same situation and know how it feels to be in need.

Mike 7th said...

This video really makes you realize that there is always enough money to give. If workers in a meat packing plant can give up $500 every year middle class families can definately afford to pay the price. The fact that conservatives give more surprises me because despite the fact that, ideogically, they wish to lower government welfare which gives money to the poor they are willing to donate it themselves.

Kate said...

What I found to be exceptionally interesting was the role of ideologies in giving. Conservatives expect less government involvement in their lives so they give more opposed to liberals who will give less because they think that the government should have a larger role in keeping the distribution of wealth more equal. I was suprised that low-income Americans give more money, because it seems like it should be that those who have more should give more. The differences in giving from people based on such things is interesting because it may not be what you expect to see.

The Capitalist said...

The most important point made in the video is whether people trust the government to provide aid or private organizations. I think that in the end it would tend to average out, but then again, it is based on political ideology.

Many people believe that the government's job is to provide for the poor via tax contributions- on that note, you can even donate to the federal government when doing income taxes (there is a line for it).

I would be on the side that says that charity should come from private organizations. I find that they, when operated like businesses, are much more efficient with our funds than the government.

Ben said...

Lower-income people giving a higher percentage than those better off was a bit of a surprise, I guess. The middle class don't see themselves as well-off, even though they are. It depends on your definition of giving, too. Like, where the money goes has an effect on how useful it is.

Carissa said...

I found nothing really surprising in this video to be honest. Of course the religious will give more; in many religions, giving is mentioned in their rules/guidelines. About the rich, middle, and poor, the poor empathize with those who are less unfortunate so will give more. And about the Conservative thing, they are usually more religious so again they will give more.

Rebecca said...

Obviously the statistics show that religious people give more, but i don't think that has to be a deciding factor when giving to charity. I think it has to do more with personal values and beliefs(which of course your religion will reflect) than what your church is telling you to do. It also just makes me angry to find out that well off people give less, if the poor can give so can they.

Reaper said...

I actually don't find the results of this study to be all that shocking. It does make sense that the working poor would give more than others. The reason I feel this way is because I feel that poor people can make do with less and because of this they have more to give to charity. Where the working poor probably only owns one car and sees going to a local beach as an idea of a family vacation, the middle class and upper class own multiple cars and spend thousands on expensive cruises and other means of entertainment. Even for the upper class when broken down I bet the top 1% give the vast majority to charity compared to other rich just because they have so much that what they give is nothing compared to what they make. As for the rest of the rich, between the top 5 and 20 percent about, I bet they give even less than the middle class just because they are busy spending money on things that they think they should have just because they can barely afford them.

Zach said...

First of all, I doubt that the bucket "test" they did really proves that much, but I can still see logic in some of their other statistics. Of course the religious will give more, not to be overly critical, but donations have been a part of religion since the Catholics selling indulgences. Donations are a part of nearly all religions, and in a way, people are almost conditioned by their faith into opening up their wallets. This is not to say, however, that I disagree with the principle of charity. I think that anyone should give whatever aid they can, whether it be time volunteering, money, or food and clothing. What does it matter whether it is the rich or the poor, or the left or right, that are donating? The fact is that Americans offer more charitable aid than any other country. It has almost become the American way, regardless of income class, religious beliefs, and political views.

Mister T said...

I wasn't really surprised by anything in the article other than that the upper and lower class give more than the middle class. I guess it's because the upper class has all this money, so they feel like it is their obligation to share it, and the lower class gives because they have less, but are more greatful for what they have, instead of pursueing to become rich like the middle class often does.