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It’s 'Remember a Charity in your Will' week!

foolsgold

foolsgold

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It’s 'Remember a Charity in your Will' week! By supporting Handicap International UK in your Will, you can make a real difference. Find out more
This year’s 'Remember a Charity in your Will' week aims to inspire the living legend in all of us.
A 94-year-old wing walker, a 72-year-old competing Ironwoman, and an 80-year-old high diver star in a special Living Legends documentary that sees these three inspirational grandparents share their remarkable stories. The film shows that, irrespective of age, anyone can be a living legend by including a charity they care about in their Will.
If you would like to become a Living Legend by leaving a gift in your Will to Handicap International UK, please visit our website for more information.
With my best wishes,http://handicap-international-uk.org/QI4-2SSMZ-DVF239-19CW81-1/c.aspx

Beatrice Cami
Handicap International UK

from an email just got
 
I hereby leave a proportion of the country's money (our money) to be used to help the sick and poor (and the country's got enough so we can help the sick and poor of the rest of the world too while we're at it). We could collect and distribute the country's money through some sort of collection system that takes a fair percentage of people's wages and wealth, with richer people paying a bigger percentage (to balance against the advantage their money gives them). This money could then be distributed in ways decided by some sort of representative voting system.

(that's irony by the way)

Charities exist largely to cover up, and therefore sustain, the things that should be paid for collectively by taxation but aren't. The amount given in charity is the exact amount that the governments don't have to bother with. Much of the right wing hanker back to a time when there was no welfare system and charity was the only safety net; government schemes like the big society want the same; though they want it so the rich can pay less tax, not because they think it will help people (as far as lots of them think, poor people deserve to be punished if they haven't created a fortune out of nowhere as a natural darwinian process (whcih just happens to call the rich people the successes, even though most inherited their wealth). Not to mention that many international charities are used as tools of geopolitics and to justify 'humanitarian' intervention.

Saying all that, the impulse to charity is a really good thing - i just think it's hijacked by various dodgy organisations: instead people should campaign for the government to change the bad thing (or start a revolution); or go and directly help poor people in soup kitchens or something (not saying i do this mind). But giving a direct debit as a commercial solution for momentary guilt just gives some pseudo-financial organisation a chance to take out credit or take out a load of derivatives or something (cos this spivery is what they often do with the cash). There are probably smaller charities where you may be surer that your money is going to do something good, but you need to research it to know - don't just trust the 'big players' as they have mostly all been up to no good.

When i see adverts showing starving african children, and i then remember that we could pay to eliminate entire world hunger out of just the UK budget without even breaking a sweat, it does make me angry. What people decide to do with their money is their own affair though.
 
^Just as an aside to that, not really a direct response to your post......Some very wealthy people like Bill Gates and Richard Branson quietly donate huge amounts of their vast fortunes to 'good causes'. This kind of stuff does make me feel that there is some good in the world. I'm sure many other wealthy people do simillar things too. Increasing taxes is never going to win many votes, ironically maybe reducing taxes may mean that everyone has a little more money to spare and so be more likely to give to w/e causes are close to their hearts.
 
I'm sure there's an impulse to good in all; though with bill gates i'm sure i remember reading that his choice of cause had a few dodgy political implications in themselves (a just international financial system would mean those 'unfortunate' countries wouldn't need largesse of philanthropy). The trouble with philanthropy is that the rich person gets to pick and choose the causes, so they may unconsiouly choose things that allow their position to continue and not even see other options (confirmation bias affects us all - hence how i remember that story about bill gates' charity stuff being dodgy).

I think the way politics is portrayed to us via the media determines the limits of what we think is possible - especially in economic areas - when do you ever hear details of non-neoliberal economic theories, except as a disingenuous aside. I think if the mass of people were actually made aware of how economics worked and had some say how to change it (without a load of 'experts' telling them they couldn't possibly understand), the resulting system would end up much more socialist/social democratic than what we've got now. I hope that what may happen in scotland ends up giving us that very example (but it would be such a good example i fear it will be crushed)

...

The thing about reducing all taxes is a poor person's money is still fuck all even with no taxes to pay; whereas a rich person's money is still loads even if there's a 95% tax rate after (say) £200,000 like there roughly used to be (incidentally during the longest period of prosperity on record)
 
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