Salomon Says: Target Practice

I love this comparison, I heard a long time ago, that usually the poor give proportionally more from their income than the rich, And this is just another proof.
S. Feder

It is probably physically easier for someone who makes billions of dollars to give a higher percentage of their income. But emotionally, or in actuality, it is more difficult. Why? Because someone who dedicates himself to earning money so far in excess of what is needed for life has his eyes on something very different from charity.

Most of us don't make that ten percent, though we may think we do. Our accountant continuously asks us, "WHy don't you think of yourself first?" We know he wouldn't understand, so we just laugh. But we haven't sat down and said, "Is this ten percent? Is this twenty percent?"

And as an aside, it's much easier to give charity once your children are grown!

A corperation has almost all the same rights as a citizen of the united states. They pay taxes, are liable for damages, can sue others for defamation, can hold patents, can buy and sell and trade and even be legally terminated. A corporation is only different in that it does not have a unique moral responsibility to it's fellow corporations, though it does have a responsibility to people. Corporations can also treat their donations as a form of collateral, the way some people do. People sometimes feel poor, or greedy, and don't want to give to charity. If they arrainge for the corporation they work for to give it is money they don't have to think about giving on their own & they can take credit and a sense of righteousness in the larger amount that was given by the corporation than they could have given individually. It is a false pride, but I think an admirable attempt at real charity.

Corporate profits of of a pubicly traded corporation are owned by the shareholders of that corporation. It is the individual's responsibility to give tzedaka, not a corporate entity. In fact, as a stockholder, I would be disappointed to find that a company of which I owned a part was making this important decision for me. What if I don't want my money going to the charity "the corporation" chooses? In fact, how would they make that choice? This isn't something that can be decided in a proxy statement or during an annual shareholders' meeting. It's fiscally irresponsible for a corporation to give to charity.

I think we should be happy and impressed. It's not every day that a company gives 88.8 million dollars. I think we should be happy and set new goals to mabye 3 % and then higher and keep this going. That is the proccess we should be focusing on.

I think it's great that Target, Nationwide, and Coke are committed on any level to give to charity. A corporation is not a person and is under no obligation, moral or otherwise, to give away its profits. The obligation is to the shareholders!!

About 4 or 5 times a year my grandchildren and myself do a "pop-drop" at a nearby Veterans Hospital. In every ward there are coke machines in the corridor. Nobody uses them. They have no money! They sacrifice their lives and then personal desires so their families can sustain themselves. My grandchildren haul in nearly 400 cans of soda to be given away each time we visit. They are delighted with the smiles we receive.Its a sacrifice for a widow, any widow to do this. Now, may I ask the CEO of our beverage makers......"Why have you never thought of donating one can of pop to each of these Vets who laid down life and health for you to live free and grow wealthy at least on Father's Day and Veterans Day? I am sure their are warehouses full of the stuff just waiting out an expiration date! Appreciated your comments, Sir! Respectfully, JoJo the Clown

That's some astonishing perentages...what is the average persent for a private individual or household? I think we need to challenge ourselves as yids to give our 10%. Then challenge Target, among others, to give this year, double what they did before...then next year double that...until the full 10% is given away...I wouldn't mind paying a lil bit extra in a store that I knew donated 10% of gross.

l'shalom,
Tsion Avienu
tavienu@gmail.com