Why Americans Give More Than You Think The paper is about Philanthropy

Essay by Ericindtown@aolCollege, UndergraduateA, October 2004

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Why Americans Give More Than You Think

"'It is more blessed to give than to receive'" (Holy Bible, Acts. 20.35). This passage is a spoken proverb from the Jewish profit Jesus who facilitated philanthropy. Philanthropy comes from the "Greek, form philanthr pos: philo- [which translates to] humane [or] benevolent + anthr pos, [which translates to] man, mankind" (Tomsed 1). In American culture our civilization is bombarded and pressured to squander vast retail and services. The tradition of business marketing stresses the gluttony for goods and services. Furthering humanities perceived illusion of a narcissistic and un-philanthropic corporation. Are Americans philanthropists? "70 percent of Americans give to philanthropy... [And] 55.5 percent of Americans volunteer [for philanthropy purposes]" (Grites 5). This information explicitly defines Americans do contribute resources to philanthropy for several motives. Americans are philanthropic for economical, sociological, and ecclesiastical reasons. Where a nation vividly depicted and perceived as rapacious patrons are striving for harmony.

First, economically America is the wealthiest realm in the world, boasting a consumer based economy. So why is philanthropy practiced in our culture? The answer is complex but evidently, transparent; Americans give because of taxes, direct exchange and a warm glow. "How can taxes encourage philanthropy behavior? Taxpayers in the USA who itemize their deductions can deduct their charitable giving from their taxable income" (Grites 10). Articulating, Americans can deduct money on their taxes from a charitable giving. For example, hypothetically if someone contributes one hundred dollars to a charity and they were in the 30 percent tax bracket the "real" donation would be seventy dollars because they wrote off (or itemized) thirty dollars in their income taxes. Subsequently, Americans donate for direct exchange. For instance, a philanthropist could give a large sum of wealth to a college. The donor may assume a building will be named...