Ah, you're not the only one, but I'm probably leaning kinder than most people, because while I make about 5% of this person's income I do come from a family of the kind of accidental millionaires I described below which makes me constantly feel like I'm not giving enough because familial wealth and being raised to just chuck all your money into investments and forget about it keeps expenses and debt so low. I probably am giving over 10% - it's the single biggest category in my recurring bills, other than the rent I give Mom which she gives right to charity - but I'm still saving way more than most people in my place, and I do have a ton of choice paralysis about it.
I think we both are basically agreed here - ideally the answer is LW doesn't have to give a huge percent to charity, because they *are* giving so much in taxes, and the taxes are being spent on actually helping people, and if they want to give above that it's just because it brings joy. But alas that's not the world we live in.
But I guess because of that their "I'm already giving half my income away, isn't that enough?" didn't strike me quite as badly as it did some people because I think if all of the 1% learned to think of paying income taxes as putting their money in trust for the aid of society as a whole and that being a good thing to do - which the person does seem to do! - we would live in a much better world (with a much healthier tax base.) Like if even one billionaire sat down and thought, you know what, maybe instead of micromanaging my charitable trust I will just ask my accountants to try to max my taxes instead of mimimizing them and give money to politicians who want to bring back Reagan-era taxes, that's a good outcome.
(And also, this person isn't having trouble figuring out that they're obligated to give at all; they're giving $10,000 a year, which isn't pennies, especially if you grew up in a situation where that's a year's rent, and it still takes making a decision that you're going to give.)
no subject
I think we both are basically agreed here - ideally the answer is LW doesn't have to give a huge percent to charity, because they *are* giving so much in taxes, and the taxes are being spent on actually helping people, and if they want to give above that it's just because it brings joy. But alas that's not the world we live in.
But I guess because of that their "I'm already giving half my income away, isn't that enough?" didn't strike me quite as badly as it did some people because I think if all of the 1% learned to think of paying income taxes as putting their money in trust for the aid of society as a whole and that being a good thing to do - which the person does seem to do! - we would live in a much better world (with a much healthier tax base.) Like if even one billionaire sat down and thought, you know what, maybe instead of micromanaging my charitable trust I will just ask my accountants to try to max my taxes instead of mimimizing them and give money to politicians who want to bring back Reagan-era taxes, that's a good outcome.
(And also, this person isn't having trouble figuring out that they're obligated to give at all; they're giving $10,000 a year, which isn't pennies, especially if you grew up in a situation where that's a year's rent, and it still takes making a decision that you're going to give.)