Word: givers
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...When looked at in the widest context, this point of view seems unwarranted. Foundation wealth represents the tiniest fraction of all private wealth in this country, which is estimated at $2.15 trillion. Foundation grants account for only 8% of total U.S. philanthropy, 80% of which comes from the individual giver, in a gamut of generosity that embraces large and small offerings to hospitals, churches, the Community Chest and even the coins dropped into Salvation Army tambourines...
...fight to erase poverty. "We have created a welfare system which aids only a fourth of those who are poor, which forces men to leave their families so that public assistance can be obtained, which has created a dependence on their fellow citizens that is degrading and distasteful to giver and receiver alike," said Bobby. "We have created a system of handouts, a second-rate set of social services which damages and demeans its recipients and destroys any semblance of human dignity that they have managed to retain through their adversity." Unless the U.S. achieves "a virtual revolution...
...sent no bill. When Ingalls insisted on a settlement, Dr. Callahan told him that he would prefer some help toward starting a nonprofit hospital for eye patients. "How much?" asked Ingalls suspiciously. "Mr. Ingalls," said the doctor with studied boldness, "you're not noted for being a generous giver...
That is putting it in the sociologist's typically unmerry way. But the thought does define one of the cardinal sins of giving; most presents are offered to please not the recipient but the giver. Half the time, the Collected Poems of Ezra Pound are chosen to show that the giver is an intellectual, not because the recipient might actually enjoy them. The situation is happily reversed if it is the recipient who is struggling to prove his intellectual status-then the book becomes a compliment, where Valley of the Dolls would have been an insult. This is particularly...
...thought presumptuous-perhaps the silver thingumajig of indeterminate value but clearly stamped "Tiffany." The wrong but frequently observed rule is that a gift for a rich friend-acquaintance has to be relatively expensive, while the present for a friend of lower income can be relatively cheap. Thus, the giver often finds himself sulkily spending more on those who enjoy it less. Actually, any present for someone richer than the giver should be pointedly inexpensive but thoughtful, like hand-knitted ear muffs...