Poorer people give a greater percentage of their income to charity

sam_is_making_progress

post deleted

C_Mababejive

You say its a fact but is it and where is the empirical evidence?

Even so,if it were true then no wonder they are poorer.

sassy_one

Perhaps, the reason the poorer give more to charity than more wealthy people is because they know what it is like to be poor themselves.

C_Mababejive

I dont have issues with charity collectors be they doorsteppers or in the street. I simply start the conversation by asking if they want me to give them money/subscribe...whatever. If they say yes,i just say im not interested...bye. If they say no..and then later come round to it,i simply say they lied initially and bye..

Soubrette

sassy-one wrote: »

Perhaps, the reason the poorer give more to charity than more wealthy people is because they know what it is like to be poor themselves.

The claim is not that the poor give more to charity, but that they give a greater proportion of their income to charity. Overall they may well give less in actual monetary terms than the rich.

The poor also spend more as a percentage of their income on things like lottery tickets.

It doesn't seem that unbelievable to me - £100pm on £1000pm salary is a big percentage compared to £100pm on a £5000pm salary.

snugglepet20

Maybe the reason poorer people give a higher percentage of their income to charity (if it's true) is because the caring professions are so badly paid. Nurses, social workers etc earn a lot less than say bankers and lawyers and they are likely to be the kind of people who care about charity being (hopefully) naturally inclined towards helping others. No offense to those working in the more capitalist professions but I do notice a distinct difference in attitude towards helping others in friends who work in more cut-throat money-orientated type jobs.

(I am now prepared to be slagged off for my massive generalisation by a merchant banker who gives every penny of his earnings to charity and lives in a tent in the woods eating berries and worms :rotfl:)

lincroft1710

sam_is_making_progress wrote: »

one of my friends is a bit of a polictical nutter. And he keeps making reference to a job he used to have where he was working for a sales company and knocking on people's doors to get them to sign up to charities. He was getting paid on commission though (so it wouldn't have been a very good way for them to donate anyway) and he was learning some pretty manipulative sales tactics (which, I think it's fair to say, people from certain backgrounds were more likely to see through).

So your friend was probably able to "persuade" elderly people on pensions to sign up and thus the poorer will be giving more to charity!

moonrakerz

"Poorer people give a greater percentage of their income to charity"

Simple maths !

If you earn £25,000 a year and put £1 in a collecting tin and Richard Branson earns £2M a year and puts £50 in, who has put the bigger percentage of their income into the tin ?

You can prove anything with numbers.....................

Simon11

Buts it is also true that richer people give a greater percentage to the goverment in income tax ect (Although there are some clever accountants)

Money given to goverment is a good thing, like giving to a charity, although we don't see it that way :P

LilacPixie

Think it could also be that you are focusing on monetary donations. I might donate the odd £1 to a charity collector in a supermarket or street and thats it money wise.

In other ways I donate be it time, unwanted gifts to charity shops, I have a small jewellery business and I often donate a small peice for local charities like SCBU, Mcmillian nurses and other charities/causes that have somehow impacted on my family.

Still it will read something like £2000pm income £5pm monetary donation to charity.

flashnazia

Depends what you mean by 'poorer'.

Do you mean people on benefits?

My hairdresser says those on benefits pay big tips.

Perhaps it's something to do with receiving 'free' money. Free money has less value because you made sweet f all effort to acquire it. Therefore you feel less pain when giving it away.

Also consider that some working people don't have as much disposable income as those on benefits.