Mr. Tobias gets his statistics from the IRS. The average deduction for charity among Americans who itemize their deductions is 3% of disposable income. This is across all income levels, from an annual income of under $20,000 to an annual income of over $500,000. The average American gives 3% of his income to charity. This 3% stays constant over every tax bracket. The orthodontist who makes $500,000 gives away $15,000 while the school teacher who makes $30,000 gives away $900.
Mr. Rudner gets his statistics from the scrupulous records maintained by the caste at their temples. The average merchant donated 2% of his income to charity. Every earning member did. In addition, the richer members would be tapped for tasks or amounts the entire community could not levied for.
Okay, Americans donate mostly through their churches. Proselytization is a dirty word among most of us. We who pride ourselves on our tolerance and sophistication should surely be able to do better, shouldn't we? Well, here are a couple of ideas. CRY, Child Relief and You, is an organization that helps children in India (ph: 609-279-0274, email: cry@wnx.com ). AID, Association for India's Development, nudges along a variety of social causes in India (ph:301-345-7250, email: aid@wam.umd.edu ). Donations to both organizations are tax-exempt in the U.S.
Think about it. Our ancestors donated 2% or more, our friends on average give about 3% of their income to charity. Shamed by our ancestors and by our neighbors, it seems a sad way to end this year.
*** please feel free to forward/store or otherwise recycle this article. Just put in a link to the web page ... Lakshman
