"Why the rich don't give to charity"

No, but on the other hand, consider this more evidence to give lie to the whole trickle-down, job-creator myth. Rich people will act like anyone else with money -- use it to benefit themselves as much as possible.

 

From the article:

“While having money doesn’t necessarily make anybody anything,” Piff later told New York magazine, “the rich are way more likely to prioritize their own self-interests above the interests of other people.” They are, he continued, “more likely to exhibit characteristics that we would stereotypically associate with, say, assholes.”

 

Make of the "moral" component whatever you like.

But haven't we all been told the last thirty years that private philanthropy - that 'thousand points of light' - would make up for whatever social programs we gutted?

 

He is speaking from a wealth of personal research he has done on the topic.

 

So the "rich" worry about themselves or their families more than other people. How awful of them. They should strive to be more like the selfless, all-giving poor who have not the slightest interest in self-preservation.

So the argument is that the rich are concerned with themselves more than others? Those bastards!

 

"Colorful statements aside, Piff’s research on the giving habits of different social classes—while not directly refuting the asshole theory—suggests that other, more complex factors are at work. In a series of controlled experiments, lower-income people and people who identified themselves as being on a relatively low social rung were consistently more generous with limited goods than upper-class participants were. Notably, though, when both groups were exposed to a sympathy-eliciting video on child poverty, the compassion of the wealthier group began to rise, and the groups’ willingness to help others became almost identical."

 

I've never looked at these studies, but I know I've read that line enough over the years that I bought in and assumed it was true.

 

Another view on the question of ExxonMobil and taxes.

articles.washingtonpost.com/2011-05-11/business/35264658_1_federal-income-tax-rate-tax-benefits

"Exxon Mobil says it pays plenty — more in U.S. taxes than it earned in the United States last year.

Not so, say critics of the oil industry; the Center for American Progress says the oil giant’s effective federal income tax rate is about half the 35 percent standard for U.S. companies. The liberal-leaning think tank, citing Exxon Mobil’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, says the corporation didn’t pay any federal income tax in 2009.

It all depends on how you count."

 

In Trenton a few years ago I walked around looking for photos. Stumbled upon Wendy from South Trenton. Poorest of the poor. Asked to take her photo. She asked for 2 bucks. I gave her the 2 bucks, she let me take a picture. But on top of that she gave me a new bottle of hand sanitizer and a can of pears -- things she clearly could have used more than me. I've never been able to shake that moment. She was so selfless.

http://incrediblekulk.blogspot.com/2012/07/2-women-2-dollars.html

 

Which is why we have gated communities.

 

And private schools.