You're rich, now what?
 

In another thread the subject of rich people donating came up. I believe that people have the right to do what they like with their money. I give both my time and cash when I can. I'm also a mean spirited bastard when the mood takes me just to even up my Karma.

Do you think that the wealthy have a moral obligation to be philanthropic?

Discuss:

Re: You're rich, now what?
 

Not a moral obligation, luckily for them it's a tax shelter. Personally if I had the money I would give even if it weren't a tax shelter.

Do they have a MORAL obligation. No. Do I feel that they should. Yes. Not just every time a large natural disaster hits for PR.

Re: You're rich, now what?
 

Balance is everything. If you take, it's good to give back.
I believe it's more of a spiritual obligation than a moral one.

Re: You're rich, now what?
 

That's another aspect where 'You're damned if you do..' because if they give to a disaster fund it looks like moral showboating and if they don't it looks like they're an unfeeling tightwad depending on how the media want them perceived that week.

Give quietly, regularly and it will sort its self out.

Re: You're rich, now what?
 

do the wealthy have a moral obligation to be philanthropic? sure...just as the rest of us do. whether it's spare change in the collection basket each Sunday, or a $100,000 check to Jerry's Kids, or volunteering to coach a youth league, i believe we all have a moral obligation to provide what we can to those who need it.

some can provide more (time and/or money) than others...but i feel that we are still obliged to provide what we can, when we can do so.

Re: You're rich, now what?
 

No obligation whatsoever. They call it "generosity" for a reason.

If I were filthy rich, and I decided to give $1 million to the Tsunami relief efforts, and I heard someone say that they thought I was obligated to do that, I'd be real pissed.

When people are giving of their time or financial resources, they deserve to be thanked and appreciated.

Re: You're rich, now what?
 

Exactly. I haven't read what people said in my response to the "Unique Whips" thread, but I basically agree with what most of everyone has said. There is no TRUE obligation, but it is a good thing to donate what people can, when they can.

Re: You're rich, now what?
 

Is a philanthropist a better person than a non-philanthropist?
Is it our obligation to be the best people we can be?

Re: You're rich, now what?
 

i consider a moral obligation as something that my morals would lead me to believe I would do...do I personally think that charity is a moral obligation? Yes I do. Doesn't mean the next Joe, Schneed or Malcolm does...and that's cool. that is certainly your preogative. that is a problem with humans in general. most cannot disassociate themselves to form a valid opinion, and realize that your opinion may not be right or wrong. there is always room for gray area...you certainly do not always have to be right.

my morality leads me to believe that giving of yourself for charitable reasons is obligatory. for if you do not give, who will?

Re: You're rich, now what?
 

[QUOTE=EEich]Is a philanthropist a better person than a non-philanthropist?[/QUOTE]
absolutely not.

Re: You're rich, now what?
 

[QUOTE=BDBohnzie]absolutely not.[/QUOTE]

Do you think more good people are philanthropists or non-philanthropists?

Re: You're rich, now what?
 

[QUOTE=BDBohnzie]i consider a moral obligation as something that my morals would lead me to believe I would do...do I personally think that charity is a moral obligation? Yes I do. Doesn't mean the next Joe, Schneed or Malcolm does...and that's cool. that is certainly your preogative. that is a problem with humans in general. most cannot disassociate themselves to form a valid opinion, and realize that your opinion may not be right or wrong. there is always room for gray area...you certainly do not always have to be right.

my morality leads me to believe that giving of yourself for charitable reasons is obligatory. for if you do not give, who will?[/QUOTE]

You. ;)

J/K

This is definitely one of those areas where it is completely subjective and I too, feel that I should help charity. I don't know if this is out of obligation or not. It's one of those natural reactions because of how I was raised.

Re: You're rich, now what?
 

[QUOTE=BDBohnzie]i consider a moral obligation as something that my morals would lead me to believe I would do...do I personally think that charity is a moral obligation? Yes I do. Doesn't mean the next Joe, Schneed or Malcolm does...and that's cool. that is certainly your preogative. that is a problem with humans in general. most cannot disassociate themselves to form a valid opinion, and realize that your opinion may not be right or wrong. there is always room for gray area...you certainly do not always have to be right.

my morality leads me to believe that giving of yourself for charitable reasons is obligatory. for if you do not give, who will?[/QUOTE]

That's cool, I admire that you're able to not press your views on somebody who doesn't believe the same thing you do.

You should check out the Terri Schiavo thread. At the end of the thread we got all Socrates about personal belief systems.

[url="http://www.thewarpath.net/showthread.php?t=5542&page=3&pp=10"]http://www.thewarpath.net/showthread.php?t=5542&page=3&pp=10[/url]

Re: You're rich, now what?
 

[quote=EEich]Do you think more good people are philanthropists or non-philanthropists?[/quote]
Good is such a generalized term...I personally think "Good" people realize that they should give of themselves, and would be more philanthropic. However, not being philanthropic doesn't make you a bad person automatically.

schneed...i've been keeping up with the Schiavo thread...i even have a post in there somewhere. i quite honestly believe neither side is doing what is best for Terri, and since the law has been brought into the equasion, and they have made their decisions, that it's best to follow what is says and move on.

Re: You're rich, now what?
 

Yeah it's impossible for us to know what is best for her, unless she had left a living will. We have no idea what she wanted.

Anyway, giving your time and money is a very admirable thing to do. I just hope that whoever is the recipient truly appreciates it. If I gave to someone and they didn't thank me or show appreciation, I'd never give to them again. I'm not a fan of ingrates. That's not to say that if I give then that person owes me something in return, giving doesn't mean you own the recipient. All I expect is basic common courtesy: a thank you and genuine appreciation.

Re: You're rich, now what?
 

"Burn me once, shame on you, burn me twice, shame on me"

Re: You're rich, now what?
 

[QUOTE=]Anyway, giving your time and money is a very admirable thing to do. I just hope that whoever is the recipient truly appreciates it. ...[/QUOTE]


Well, mainly it's the hookers on Hollywood and Vine, but if I'm particularly flush one week I'll pick up the local Yellow Pages and spring for an escort. They always seem to be appreciative. Oh, and strippers.

Re: You're rich, now what?
 

[QUOTE=BDBohnzie]do the wealthy have a moral obligation to be philanthropic? sure...just as the rest of us do. whether it's spare change in the collection basket each Sunday, or a $100,000 check to Jerry's Kids, or volunteering to coach a youth league, i believe we all have a moral obligation to provide what we can to those who need it.

some can provide more (time and/or money) than others...but i feel that we are still obliged to provide what we can, when we can do so.[/QUOTE]

Great way to put it, everyone should feel obligated to lend a helping hand whenever possible.

Re: You're rich, now what?
 

[QUOTE=Mattyk72]Great way to put it, everyone should feel obligated to lend a helping hand whenever possible.[/QUOTE]

I can't agree here. If you feel obligated, that means you feel it's your personal responsibility to help, which goes against the very definition of the words generosity and philanthropy.

If someone gives of themselves, I look at them with admiration. I don't view them as someone simply doing their job. After all, fulfilling an obligation is the same thing as doing your job.

Re: You're rich, now what?
 

Of course it's a tax shelter. When you donate money to your community you are in a sense, paying taxes.

Re: You're rich, now what?
 

If your name isn't Ramseyfan and you're wealthy, you MUST give money to others (principally people named Ramseyfan). If your name is Ramseyfan and you're wealthy, you don't have to give money to others, but if you do, others must erect statutes to hail your majesty.

Re: You're rich, now what?
 

The rich give to charity and get it back when taxes are filed. So it is a tax shelter for them.

Re: You're rich, now what?
 

[QUOTE=John Hasbrouck]The rich give to charity and get it back when taxes are filed. So it is a tax shelter for them.[/QUOTE]

In point of fact, that's not entirely true. Tax deductions for contributions aren't even close to 100%; they only get back (by virtue of the tax deducation) a portion of the money they give.

Plus, not to be incredibly obonoxious, but a tax shelter is a place where you can put money to avoid taxation. It doesn't shelter money to give it away - even if you get a portion of it back.

Re: You're rich, now what?
 

[QUOTE=RedskinRat]Well, mainly it's the hookers on Hollywood and Vine, but if I'm particularly flush one week I'll pick up the local Yellow Pages and spring for an escort. They always seem to be appreciative. Oh, and strippers.[/QUOTE]

:lol:

Re: You're rich, now what?
 

As corny as it sounds, we all have a part in doing what we can to help out. Some do community service. For some their job is a service to the community. Others donate food or money when they can. There are also many other ways to help out and while I don't think helping out or not helping out determines whether someone is a good person or not, being a good samaritan is never a bad thing to be. Personally I do what I can when I can, and I don't think twice about. And I agree with others in that being pressured into a charitable deed negates the purpose.

Re: You're rich, now what?
 

they get back 75-80% of instead of paying 45% tax then it is a image tax shelter-still a tax shelter

Re: You're rich, now what?
 

[QUOTE=John Hasbrouck]they get back 75-80% of instead of paying 45% tax then it is a image tax shelter-still a tax shelter[/QUOTE]

I'm not trying be obnoxious, but I don't think the above statement is accurate.

Let's say I have $10,000,000 of taxable money and I'd normally have to pay $3,000,000 for Federal income tax - so I'm left with $7,000,0000. I opt to give $500,000 to charity - leaving me with $6,500,000. I get back $400,000 (which is a very high estimate since you don't get back 80%). So, I'm left with $6,900,000. Even if you assumed I get back 80% of what you donate, I'm still out $100,000.

So I don't see how it's any kind of tax shelter, or cheating the system in the name of altruism, to give the money if I'm still out $100,000 more than I would have been without the contribution.

The only way it would be a tax shelter is if I got a tax deducation [I]in excess [/I] of 100% of the amount I contributed.

Re: You're rich, now what?
 

Ramseyfan it is WAY better than paying the FULL tax on it-tax shelter no matter how you want to state it