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I went to college with dozens of Jason Triggs (including myself). We'd talk all the time about the money we'd make right out of college and how much good we'd

I went to college with dozens of Jason Triggs (including myself). We'd talk all the time about the money we'd make right out of college and how much good we'd do. ("$36k to work at a soulless consulting company? That's amazing! I'm living on less than 1k/month in college. I could save 5K and give 10k away and not even notice!") We had plans to give 20, 30, or 50 percent of our income away. Some of us even managed to do it for a couple years. The world gets to you, though. Your coworkers that dress nicer and go to happy hour with the boss get promoted. It gets tiresome to commute from a tiny apartment in New Jersey. You buy a house or get married to somebody who doesn't make much money. The stock market tanks and takes your savings with it. You figure out that you hate consulting and end up teaching science in a junior high. After a couple years, I'd bet that the average charitable contribution of my peer group had gone down to 5% or less. I wish Mr. Trigg luck, but we've already lived his story. He might get a few good years in, but his life is unlikely to work out like he plans.

the_cat_kittles 13y ago
It always seems like a bit of a cop out to get a high paying job so you can donate to charity- at the risk of sounding cynical, it seems like a way for people to try to have their cake and eat it too, i.e. I have a big income and can feel special about that, but then I can feel doubly special because I am so generous and giving it all away. I suppose it has some positive externalities, but I don't think it really even comes close to the spirit of charity.
- prof_hobart 13y ago
  Really? Why not? If the most effective way that you can donate to the needy is to earn big bucks and give them away, then this feels like the essence of charity to me.
- deadairspace 13y ago
  have you considered the possibility that people don't do it primarily to feel special? What do you think is the spirit of charity?
  - abraininavat 13y ago
    Don't bother. There's a significant segment of the population who can't escape the egocentric mindset others grow out of. They can't (not won't, can't) understand that others think and feel differently from them. They can't imagine others wanting to fix an injustice which doesn't directly affect them.
    - the_cat_kittles 13y ago
      Wait- you inferred all this about me from a single comment? It's true that some people have no ability for empathy, but I think leveling such a harsh criticism at a random person based on a single comment is probably a little over the top.
      - abraininavat 13y ago
        True. I was using you as a proxy for Brooks and his ilk, I suppose. Sorry about that.
  - the_cat_kittles 13y ago
    I'm sure many people don't do it primarily to feel special. My apologies to those people. However, in my personal experience, the people I know with this mindset are also the people who seem to believe in the concept of "being better than other people" and actively pursue means to this end. I think what I am trying to say is related to Brook's warning that "You might become one of those people who loves humanity in general but not the particular humans immediately around." I'm not saying these people are the scum of the earth, and it's probably a bad idea to try to paint with such a broad brush- I'm simply going off my own life experience and perception thereof.
- 6d0debc071 13y ago
  > I suppose it has some positive externalities, but I don't think it really even comes close to the spirit of charity. Why would you feel special if you didn't already view generosity as something desirable?
juliawise 13y ago
I'm one of the people in the article. I'm really interested to learn that you were thinking along the same lines (assuming this was a while ago, if $36k was a lot?) I had heard of one reference to the idea from 1996, but otherwise I had only heard of it in the 2010s: http://www.jefftk.com/news/2012-09-18 http://www.jefftk.com/news/2012-09-18 I'd love to talk to you about how you and your friends got interested in this idea and what successes and failures you saw. I imagine there's a lot we can learn from your experience. juliawise07 at gmail

the_cat_kittles 13y ago

It always seems like a bit of a cop out to get a high paying job so you can donate to charity- at the risk of sounding cynical, it seems like a way for people to try to have their cake and eat it too, i.e. I have a big income and can feel special about that, but then I can feel doubly special because I am so generous and giving it all away. I suppose it has some positive externalities, but I don't think it really even comes close to the spirit of charity.

prof_hobart 13y ago
Really? Why not? If the most effective way that you can donate to the needy is to earn big bucks and give them away, then this feels like the essence of charity to me.
deadairspace 13y ago
have you considered the possibility that people don't do it primarily to feel special? What do you think is the spirit of charity?
- abraininavat 13y ago
  Don't bother. There's a significant segment of the population who can't escape the egocentric mindset others grow out of. They can't (not won't, can't) understand that others think and feel differently from them. They can't imagine others wanting to fix an injustice which doesn't directly affect them.
  - the_cat_kittles 13y ago
    Wait- you inferred all this about me from a single comment? It's true that some people have no ability for empathy, but I think leveling such a harsh criticism at a random person based on a single comment is probably a little over the top.
    - abraininavat 13y ago
      True. I was using you as a proxy for Brooks and his ilk, I suppose. Sorry about that.
- the_cat_kittles 13y ago
  I'm sure many people don't do it primarily to feel special. My apologies to those people. However, in my personal experience, the people I know with this mindset are also the people who seem to believe in the concept of "being better than other people" and actively pursue means to this end. I think what I am trying to say is related to Brook's warning that "You might become one of those people who loves humanity in general but not the particular humans immediately around." I'm not saying these people are the scum of the earth, and it's probably a bad idea to try to paint with such a broad brush- I'm simply going off my own life experience and perception thereof.
6d0debc071 13y ago
> I suppose it has some positive externalities, but I don't think it really even comes close to the spirit of charity. Why would you feel special if you didn't already view generosity as something desirable?

juliawise 13y ago

I'm one of the people in the article. I'm really interested to learn that you were thinking along the same lines (assuming this was a while ago, if $36k was a lot?) I had heard of one reference to the idea from 1996, but otherwise I had only heard of it in the 2010s: http://www.jefftk.com/news/2012-09-18 http://www.jefftk.com/news/2012-09-18 I'd love to talk to you about how you and your friends got interested in this idea and what successes and failures you saw. I imagine there's a lot we can learn from your experience. juliawise07 at gmail