Alleviating Poverty Makes Us Happy

I wrote a short article on the philosophy forums explaining why I think what is often called ‘selfishness’ is actually compatible with kindness. Check it out: Is Selfishness Compatible with Kindness?

I think we can more effectively organize to alleviate poverty if we realize the various ways that kindness and humanitarianism are actually in our own self-interest. In other words, let’s realize that we do not sacrifice our own happiness by choosing to help other people, alleviate poverty, and build a better world for all. Helping others makes us happy!

Working Poor Most Generous

In a recent article, Arthur C. Brooks, author of Gross National Happiness, pointed out an interesting fact about charity: Most studies have shown that the working poor tend to give away between four and five percent of their incomes, on average, while the rich give away between three and four percent. So-called “middle class” people gave the smallest percentage.

On one hand, I realize that, when a richer person gives a smaller percentage than a poorer person, the richer person may still have given more total dollars. On the other hand, after paying the cost-of-living, richer people have a higher percentage of their income leftover which they could put towards charity.

If I had to guess, I would speculate that poorer people give away more money to charity because they feel more solidarity with other people who suffer economically. Needing help themselves probably causes them to sympathize more with those in need.

Regardless, we all need to organize and work together much more, and do it with the goal of ending poverty and building a better world for all. As I have said before, I doubt charity alone can solve the problem of poverty and economic inequality. More than charity, I believe we need to work together in voluntarily cooperative and mutually beneficial ways, which will most often happen when we realize that poverty alleviation benefits us all.

April World Hunger and Poverty Blog Carnival

Today I will post a list of links to relevant blog posts that I received last month. This is called a “blog carnival.” I do one on the first of every month. Please bookmark this page right now so you can come back later and read more posts. Remember the following posts do not necessarily reflect my opinions, nor do I necessarily confirm any information in them. Here they are:

Abdul-Rahim presents Borges Blogue: Militantly Undecided posted at Borges Blogue.

Jamie McIntosh presents The Not-So-Humble Seed posted at Suite101: Organic Gardens blog, saying, “This week the Norwegian government opened the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, which will safeguard millions of crop seeds from catastrophes ranging from tsunamis to nuclear war.”

Ian Welsh presents The real reason why the rich see America’s problems differently posted at Firedoglake.

Jean Mosher presents War, Philanthropic and Political Web Sites « Always in Motion posted at Always in Motion.

Robyn J McCleary presents VOLUNTEER PROGRAM posted at Arts and Movie Ramblings.

Joshua C. Karlin presents Fundraising Ideas – Identification posted at Marketing & Fundraising Ideas.

Jackson Kern presents It Begins with a Signature posted at Sustainable Development and Humanitarian Causes: The Alternative Channel Blog, saying, “We can change the lives of others, and in so doing, enrich and embetter our own. It can all start with a signature…check out this inspiring 3-minute clip.”

Ishtar presents » Cash handouts are not helping! Esther Garvi: aka Ishtar News posted at Esther Garvi, saying, “what happens when aid business has money but lacks progressive ideas…”

Tracee Sioux presents Stop Abortion Vote Healthcare! posted at Blog Fabulous, saying, “With healthcare for disenfranchised women on the table we should jump on the opportunity to drastically reduce the abortion rate without criminalizing women in poverty.”

Jackson Kern presents The Power to Feed the World? A Tale of Sustainable Development, BioEngineering, and Citizen Activism posted at Sustainable Development and Humanitarian Causes: The Alternative Channel Blog, saying, “It is a fact that high-yield seeds and other varieties, readily proffered by Monsanto and others, have allowed for intensifications of agricultural cultivation. The consequent reductions of malnutrition have saved many lives and have improved countless others.”

Joshua C. Karlin presents How to Ask For A Major Gift posted at Marketing & Fundraising Ideas.

Michael Bass presents From the Headlines: Home Power and Reason magazines posted at Debt Prison, saying, “I’d wager that half of Zimbabwe will be starving to death this time next year thanks to this type of economic suicide.”

Peter Jones presents Alcoholism and the Indigenous Navajo Native American Peoples: Excellent New Movie posted at Indigenous Issues Today.

Bev Lightworker presents Free Clicks posted at Conscious Flex, saying, “When you first enter this website article, you will see at the top on the left under a section called “Heroes” something that says: “Save The World – One Click At A Time! On each of these websites, you can click a button to support the cause — each click creates funding, and costs you nothing! Bookmark these sites, and click once a day!” Just under the buttons is a HTML code where other can spread the knowledge of this using the HTML code on their website, blog or any HTML code acceptable area. I feel this is a very worthy cause.”

Romeo Vitelli presents Starved For Science posted at Providentia, saying, “A little-known research project in WWII.”

Raymond presents The IRS Economic Stimulus Notice Letter Is A Waste Of Taxpayer Money posted at Money Blue Book.

Susan presents Guest Columnist Susan Jacobs: Medical Identity Theft on the Rise « Doctor Bulldog & Ronin posted at Doctor Bulldog & Ronin.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of this world hunger and poverty blog carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Free Hugs Can Change the World

For those of you not already familiar with the Free Hugs Campaign, I recommend you watch the following YouTube video. I bet it will make you smile:

I love it! It is entertaining and pleasantly funny to watch this random long-haired guy walk around with a sign offering free hugs. More seriously, I feel even a small, mostly symbolic gesture such as giving away free hugs can help alleviate the “social disconnectivity” so common in our current society, which represents the first step in coming together and actually building a better world for all. Millions of people have seen that video, and I assume it has inspired almost all of them.

Evangelicals, Poverty and Gay Marriage

To most people, it seems that the mainstream evangelical movement has mostly focused only on opposing abortion and gay marriage. But I happily read an article about a group of evangelicals trying to prioritize a broader range of issues including poverty. They also intend to address other social problems such as healthcare, global warming, and the war in Iraq.

One of the organizers, Jim Wallis, said, “A whole generation of young evangelicals believes that Jesus would probably care more about the 30,000 children who died again today – as they did yesterday and they will tomorrow – from preventable disease than he would about passing a gay-marriage amendment in Ohio.”

I agree! I am not a religious person, but I agree with many of the secular teachings of Jesus. I also believe that Jesus and other caring people would worry much more about issues such as poverty, healthcare, education and the enviornment than about gay marriage.

Regardless of how they feel about gay marriage, I do not understand how anyone could think of it as more important to stop gays from marrying than to alleviate poverty and fix the healthcare crisis. Poverty kills children; gay marriage does not.

Oppression, Capital, and Poverty

Over the last few months on this blog, I have made a few posts about how what I call “neo-slavery” helps cause poverty and about how I believe giving all people equal rights to natural resources can end poverty.

In the philosophy forums today, I made a post about how government-managed currency enables a minority to oppress the majority by using currency to claim ownership of more than their fair share of natural resources. Check it out and join the discussion: Government and Currency

Without oppression robbing them of the fruits of their labor, I believe the working class would have so much more wealth that the working class families currently in poverty or at risk of poverty would no longer be in poverty or at risk of poverty. Additionally, the working class people would have enough wealth to fix the problems affecting their communities such as poverty and lack of education.