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11.28.2006 - 09:48am ET
Source:
20/20
"Cheap In America" John Stossel Reports On Charity: Who Gives, Who Doesn't And Why We All Should Be More Generous
Airing On A Special Edition of "20/20" On Wednesday, November 29, 10:00 - 11:00 p.m. on ABC
It is the season of giving. But what determines someone's likelihood
of giving? Do liberals give more than conservatives? Do religious people
give mostly to their own churches? Do the rich give more than the
middle-class and the middle-class more than the poor? And are billionaires
cheap? The answers may surprise viewers. John Stossel's special
"Cheap In America" airs as a special edition of "20/20,"
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29 (10:00-11:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television
Network.
Stossel wonders about the charitable behavior of the "filthy rich." It
turns out that the working poor give away a higher percentage of their
salary to charity than the rich. So does that mean the richest Americans
are cheap? He asks some of the Forbes 400 billionaires about that. Four,
to date, have agreed to talk to him, and their reasons for giving, and not
giving, are different and sometimes unbelievable:
Ted Turner, who is worth 1.9 billion dollars, tells Stossel: "I'm
doing all I can. And still keep enough, for, you know, make sure that my
grandchildren make it, can get through college." When Stossel suggests
that 1.9 billion should be enough, Turner answers: "It's not enough. Not
in the way inflation... I was worth ten billion, about four, five years
ago, at the very height. And I lost eight of it. So you know, the other
two could evaporate overnight...the banks can close. They're not safe
either, just like the United States government, behind social
security."
Dan Duncan, who is worth 7.5 billion dollars, is on Business
Week's list of the most generous philanthropists. Still, he has only
given away two percent of his net worth, which Stossel says "sounds
cheap." Duncan answers, "If that was all that I ever wanted to give
away, I would agree 100%, [but] if you're one of the gifted people that
can actually make more money, people receiving it are better off if you
keep it to get a lot more later on."
Eli Broad, who is worth 5.8 billion dollars, and who has given away
almost two billion dollars, 33% of his net worth, says he has so much
money that he can't yet give it away effectively. "Who do you give it to?
You could write checks. Everyone will take your money," he tells Stossel.
"And I know people in decades gone by giving away a lot of money and you
look back a decade later and say what happened to it? Did it make a
difference?"
James Goodnight, who is worth 4.5 billion dollars but is not on the
list of generous philanthopists, just tells Stossel: "I think I give
enough."
To illustrate what distinguishes those who give from those who don't,
"20/20" went to two parts of the county that have two very different
populations: Sioux Falls, South Dakota and San Francisco, California.
"20/20" asked the Salvation Army to set up buckets at their busiest
locations in both cities - Macy's in San Francisco and Walmart in Sioux
Falls. Which bucket gets more money? Sioux Falls is rural and religious,
more than half of the population go to church every week. People in San
Francisco make much more money, are more liberal, and just 14% of people
in San Francisco attend church every week. Liberals are said to care
more about helping the poor; so will people in San Francisco give more?
In his book, Who Really Cares, Arthur Brooks finds that
the people who donate money are the same ones who will donate blood,
volunteer, and even give up their seat on a bus. "The people who give one
thing tend to be the people who give everything in America," says
Brooks.
Stossel also reports on the joy of giving. Science documents something
called the "helpers' high." It is one more reason for people to think
about giving more of their money, or time, to others. "Giving is as good
for the giver as it is for the receiver, science says so," says Stephen
Post, author of an upcoming book Why Good things Happen To Good
People. In fact, new science says that giving more can actually
improve your health.
Community Development
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Joyce Placito
2006-11-29 11:47:35
I have heard a lot about this recently, but think that many people consider themselves moderate or conservative and will say so because 'liberal' has negative connotions in society. many people that you actually survey about their feelings on social issues are acutally more progressive but do not want a liberal label.
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