Americans are extremely generous and charitable by many metrics like this. [1]
Not to mention soft generosity like tipping culture.
[1] https://www.axios.com/2022/03/09/america-charitable-giving-s...
Not to mention soft generosity like tipping culture.
[1] https://www.axios.com/2022/03/09/america-charitable-giving-s...
barfs
It is from 2022 and mainly focuses on pandemic times, so I'd be curious to see what these trends look like compared to pre/post pandemic. I'm sure I could do more digging and find the answers to this, but still I appreciate this, it is interesting.
One thing I think I would push back on though is the remark of 'soft generosity like tipping culture' which isn't mentioned at all in the list. I also would not consider US tipping culture generosity, but more of a social contract/obligation. Someone that does not tip anywhere, except for where they received great service, isn't normally seen as a non-generous person, they're seen as not abiding by the social contract that you have to tip.
But it’s not just tipping at a restaurant. We tip our garbage men, helpers, mailmen, doormen, maids, nanny’s, etc at Christmas. You don’t have to do this. But many of us do because we are raised to be generous if we are fortunate enough to be.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_charitabl...
Plus there are limits on how much you can deduct and it's less for assets than for cash. Lastly we have a thing called Alternitive Minimum Tax what is a catchall for anyone that thinks they can pay less by adjusting their income down. You need to calculate both taxes and you pay the higher one.
A country with one of the highest income inequalities in the western world!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_income_in...
Being generous is voting for healthcare and social welfare programmes for all, regardless of income.
Also, the charitable giving figures you quote are skewed as the US offers tax breaks to donate to "charities" which can be financially beneficial to the giver (charity oversight in the USA is notoriously lax).
> Not to mention soft generosity like tipping culture.
Don't take the piss!
There are various methods of rationing healthcare. I'm not sure choosing the government to arbitrate rationing is any more "generous". Regardless, American's that can't afford to subsidize their own healthcare (poor, disabled, child, elderly, etc) have many options from the government to assist them such as Medicare, Medicaid, a variety of state programs, etc. I also wouldn't use the NHS as any model of egalitarian or generosity in healthcare as any Brit that can afford it has private insurance on top of it since the NHS leaves a lot to be desired.
> Also, the charitable giving figures you quote are skewed as the US offers tax breaks to donate to "charities" which can be financially beneficial to the giver (charity oversight in the USA is notoriously lax).
You can deduct from your taxable burden certain charitable donations, but it isn't anywhere near a complete write-off. You'd save considerably more by just paying taxes instead of giving to charity. And this is a great policy as it allows citizens to fund things that would otherwise be well out of scope of government.
> Don't take the piss!
Waitstaff is what many people think of in this context. But waitstaff in the USA earns considerably more than in the UK or EU due to the generosity of tipping culture. I've never met a waiter that wanted a higher hourly wage to replace their tips as they can and do make a lot of money with tips.
But Americans tip far more than waiters. During Christmas we give tips to our garbage collectors, mail carriers, extra to maids and other helpers, tip to teachers and school staff, doormen if you live in an apartment with them. People give greatly to organizations they support and to their churches.
I've spent a lot of time in the UK and although a lovely place in many regards, I'm not sure there's a more stingy, tight culture anywhere else on Earth. Everything is precise and transactional and anything regarding helping someone is measured and on the lean side. In large part it's because Brits are very poor compared to Americans but it's also a culture thing too.
Yes, there’s definitely a lot of nice people there (most, even), but there’s also a whole bunch more that make it feel unsafe to just walk the streets.