I am the rich elite that I hate
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I've been cranky today. Hubby didn't leave me even a full cup of coffee. The novel synopsis was still killing me, and I was dreading the effort of finishing it and the novel and sending it out agents and being rejected. I was at work, doing travel reports for professors who get to travel all over the world. I was lamenting my dietary failings, the nasty turn my complexion has taken lately, the limited space in my house, the way my feet hurt when I get up in the morning and most of the day. Then, I went to lunch and read Jaypo's blog, which contains a link to a system that measures just how rich you are. I dutifully typed in my pittance of a secretary's salary and upon learning that I am in the top 10% of the world's wealthiest people, I felt two things:
Markedly more depressed about the state of the world.
Markedly less cranky about my situation.
My life doesn't suck, although my attitude does. I ate breakfast (albeit without coffee) and lunch today. The walk home will be cold, but at least the house will be warm when I get there. I'll probably eat dinner, too. I'll have the time, energy and electricity to work on the novel and its cruel and capricious synopsis. It always seems like there's not enough money, but at least the bills get paid and there's some left over to give to Oxfam.
In fact, combine this post with the previous post, and then click on over to Oxfam Unwrapped, where you can purchase useful items for impoverished people, in honor of your holiday gift recipients. For instance, just like with Heifer International, you can contribute money that will be used to buy livestock and farming equipment for people in developing nations. They even give you a gift card to let your loved one know that you bought something useful with the money you were going to use to buy her a plastic reindeer ornament, or an ugly piece of china, or a candleholder. It's the sort of revenge that gives you a warm, snuggly feeling.
Comments
Your post reminds me of this BBC article I spied and tried to ignore yesterday. Freaking depressing.
Hey, uh, BK, do you think you could loan me a few bucks until payday? :oP
I came out in the top 0.82%... yet "pity" myself because last year's income had me in the top 0.33%... and that difference was largely what I contributed to charity.
And it's incredibly sad that having a single income that puts me in the top 0.82% in the world still isn't enough money to afford a home in California (I have one - but got it before current prices kicked in).
Heifer International is great.
Some friends were married recently, second marriages both, and both well-off professionals. I asked if they would like to have a donation made in their name somewhere (as I would if I ever get hitched again), and they looked at me like I was from another planet. Of course, they also go to the non-profit food bank for a $20 'food grab bag' each week, driving up in their BMW. She thinks she found a screaming deal, I pointed out that bargain food wasn't the point. CLUELESS!
Also, a friend's mother passed away from a long bout of Alzheimers. I again asked if I could make a donation in her mother's name to the Alzheimers Association. "No, I really want flowers." Flowers that will die in a few days.
Okay, I know not everyone is a bleeding-heart wanna-be-philanthropist like me, but c'mon. A little social responsibility goes a long way.
Holy crap, AmyH, you need new friends!
*volunteers*
hehe
Thanks for those 2 links, Redz, I am going to check them out.
I usually buy my sister a $100 GC to a restaurant and every year she says that's too much...blah blah...(It could be she just feels bad that she doesn't spend that amount on me, which I really don't give a crap about, she feeds me a few times a year & her hubby has helped me out with house stuff or whatever...) so maybe I will donate $25 of each sister's usual $100 gift to one of those.
Let's just say that I've adjusted my time-allocation more appropriately with the people in my circles of friends.
On the plus side, I'm the Non-Profit Resource Queen to all my friends so they come to me with any charity questions they may have. I'm also the Arts & Culture Resource Queen. Oh, and lest I forget, the Dairy Queen. HAHAHA! (oooh, bad one...)
'Course, my family had a big fight over my grandpa's funeral donations. My uncle wanted the money donated to HIS church building fund, but we grandkids pitched a fit, so the money got donated to the local literacy campaign and the radio reader. (My grandpa was an incredibler reader who went blind about ten years before he died.)
Why is folks so greedy? (I will be yur fiend, Amy, and I don't ever wants presents :o)
And you are in my Vox Circle of Friends (tm), of course.
I should say, "You all are in my VCoF". And I don't want presents either!
Yeah, I can see that about the food bank. They are still paying money, which goes into the program, so that's a good thing. But she doesn't see it as helping, but if I try to make her understand that then, well, she would see me as being preachy. She's got other great qualities, really.
If I died anytime soon, my parents (bless their hearts) wouldn't give any of my money to any of my causes, but would probably buy some more cows and maybe a tractor. At least that's what Dad does with any windfall. Sure, that helps them out so I should look kindly on it, but it really bothers me that I want to get my will done to protect my money and make sure it goes where I want it to. Then I feel guilty about not helping, and so on.
So I'll just not die anytime soon. There.
Everybody needs a will, even if they're single, so the gov't doesn't take your money and stuff.
But the fact that bought tears to my eyes - and I really mean that - was the figure $73 could buy you a new mobile phone OR a new mobile health clinic to care for AIDS orphans in Uganda. Shit. Fuck. Shit. A phone. A clinic. Bit of a no-brainer, really.
Aint there just something wrong, somewhere.
LT - money makes people weird. But I do plan on leaving my family something, as they have given me so much. And again - I plan on being here for a while but I'm not completely in charge of my longevity.
The examples bring it all home. One of my fave charities here is Empty Bowls. Buy a bowl, get a voucher for a bowl of soup the average size/calorie amount of what most of the world's population eats in an entire day. All the money goes to the local food bank. You eat your bowl of soup and think, "Wow, this is it for the day."