Thursday, February 7, 2008

The Singer Solution to World Poverty

Making a decision between donating $200 to save the life of a sick 2-year old or keeping the money for ourselves, i think, showed the way people viewed Peter Singer's article.  I stood towards the wall of people that made the decision that they would not give away $200.  It may seem kind of selfish, but I wasn't so convinced that giving away my $200 would actually save a child's life.  How would I know if it actually went towards helping the child and wasn't used for something else?  How would I know if it weren't jut a scam to get my money?  Maybe if I knew a specific person or family that my donated money was going towards to help, then I may be more willing.  I would actually like to see the impact that my money will make on a child's life.  I think a lot of the people that made a similar decision to mine feel this way as well.  For Singer to tell us that we all need to donate $200 was, I thought, kind of rude.  He also said that we could all live on $30,000 for our whole lives.  Although he donates 10% of his income every year, I doubt he lives alone on just $30,000.  This is hypocritical and he should not be telling people what to do with their money if he doesn't even do it himself.  Not that I don't agree or believe that donating money can't help people but I would rather literally do something about it.  I am more satisfied with myself when I'm able to know who I'm helping and the impact I make on them. 

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