Korean Job Discussion Forums

Ilsanman · Joined: 15 Aug 2003 Location: Bucheon, Korea

For all the America haters in the world....clearly Americans are also very benevolent.

pkang0202 · Joined: 09 Mar 2007

As an American, I want to say that we don't give money to charity because we want to look good to others. When I was a broke college student, I still gave money to charity.

"America has the wealth so its only right that we give some of it back."

Thats a myth. Yes, America has the wealth but we are under NO obligation to give it to charity. We give because we care.

As for some extremely wealthy people, there could be other motives. I learned in Econ that when you are dealing with millions of dollars, sometimes its actually cheaper to donate the money to charity and get the tax write off, than it is to keep the money and get taxed on it.

Thats less than 1% of the population though. For the most part, Americans are very generous.

Ilsanman · Joined: 15 Aug 2003 Location: Bucheon, Korea

If you broke the world down per capita, I bet America or some European country gives the most money per capita.

It's not just about giving money. It's also accepting refugees, foreign support, disaster relief, etc.

Europe, USA, Australia, NZ, and Canada would be among the highest. Asia would be among the lowest.

Lie Bot · Joined: 23 Jun 2006 Location: Somewhere with Seoul!!!

Ilsanman · Joined: 15 Aug 2003 Location: Bucheon, Korea

This might not be so accurate anymore, as the data is 5 years old.

But I am guessing things have not changed drastically in the last few years.

Where are Korea and Taiwan? 2 rich asian countries that don't contribute squat.

willardmusa · Joined: 28 May 2006

People in other countries don't get the way things work in the U.S. when it comes to this kind of statistic. They look only at the percentage of GDP given by the government, when it is through private giving that Americans care for others.

I like to compare it to the way we deal with the Olympics: In nearly every country, the Olympics - - the athletes, the teams, all related expenses - - are paid for by the government. In the states, the Olympic athletes and teams have to make their own way somehow, for the most part, with minimal funding and other support from the federal government. Businesses and private individuals provide the support. And, American athletes always perform quite well in the Olympics.

The same is true of our charitable contributions and support; the government gives some, not as much by percentage of GDP as a lot of other wealthy countries, but still quite a bit. But private individuals and businesses give far, far more; and Americans do quite well in world relief efforts.