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Comment by fennecfoxen | Hacker News Reader

Random over-generosity is not a particularly effective charity pattern. If you feel that Hacker News denizens like ourselves happen to have too much money, there are a variety of organizations which can transmit sums of money to those in need: not just a one-time $15 at random with a special tax diverted to prop up the Cuban government, but on a recurring basis, every month, as part of a program to help eliminate worldwide poverty in a targeted manner, and sensitive to the dislocations that can come about as a result of carelessly deployed aid.

I use WorldVision to do this, personally (some of their non-evangelizing programs) as I appreciate their efficient organization, but there are other ones out there too. I can supply links to https://www.worldvision.org/donate and suggest interested parties consider a $40/mo sponsorship of a child's health and education at https://www.worldvision.org/sponsor-a-child

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Who cares if it’s an effective form of charity. It’s nothing for you and a big deal for that person. Not everything needs to be minimaxed to death. Same deal with haggling in the developing world. It’s just a gross thing to do when there is a big wealth inequality.

I live in Venezuela (which is Cuba lite) but earn a foreign salary.

"It’s nothing for you" compromised around half of my expenses before I started budgeting.

I hate forced charity.

@danlugo92 never disclose your income to anyone. This goes for anyone who earns a foreign salary in any country

but it's also what creates the expectation that visitors have a lot of money and it attracts the wrong kind of people. they do not know that the money you give them is nothing for you.

besides, $15 isn't exactly nothing for me either. i would quickly blow my travel budget if i were that generous.

On the haggling part, there are places where it's culturally insensitive not to haggle. I find that super irritating as a person who does not enjoy playing the game.

> Same deal with haggling in the developing world.

This bugs me too. I’m from a developing world but have a well paying job thanks to IT. It’s quite funny seeing colleagues haggle with auto rickshaw (three wheeled taxis) for 10Rs ($0.12) but part with 200Rs at Starbucks for a coffee without batting an eyelid.

Not that I wasn’t like this before, but once the severity of income inequality hit me I stopped doing such pity things. It’s not that I’m doing it out of charity but rather the whole situation reeks of injustice so it’s my way of respecting their dignity of labor.

.. especially considering the conditions which allow the heinous income equality situation in Cuba, in the first place, are directly related to American's continued ignorance of their military industrial complex' threats against 'lesser cultures' .. and/or complacency/complicity in the equation.

With respect, sir, my anecdote is rather being minmaxed to death, and there’s no need for you to do that either, as it is well in the past.

Are you trying to adjust my attitude or something? Lay off, chill out.

Is this also your response when someone asks you to grab them a drink since you're already up and in the kitchen?

It isn't about creating an effective charity pattern. It is the fact that these people have to now additionally go out and look all over town for an amount of change that probably isn't even worth the tourists' time spent waiting.

Have you heard of effective altruism and givewell?

If you want to maximize benefit per dollar I don't think there's a better way.

https://www.givewell.org/ https://www.effectivealtruism.org/

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