Do any wealthy individuals ever feel guilty knowing the amounts of poor and homeless that coexist with them?

I often wonder how exactly can the wealthy live with themselves living in such prestige and comfort knowing the amounts of individuals who suffer daily to make ends meet, find food to eat or a comfortable park to sleep in. How can they live with themselves knowing that they make their living by collecting unfair amounts of money. The million dollar entertainment industry contractors must realize there is something morally wrong with the amounts of money they take. Yes, yes the entertainment industry drives our society today, but in matters of the heart no human life is anymore valuable than anyother. Yet these cultural icons take the millions of dollars some without a second thought. Are any of them truly aware of this? Or are their donations their guilt money? They donate but go home to their enormously empty houses as a family of 15 crams themselves into a 3 bedroom apartment somewhere. Not until we begin challenging our characters will the world begin to heal.

yes

I'd just like to add that in light of Bono's appearance on this site, if you have modified your position at all? Report It

'silver and gold have i none, but what i have i give unto you"--a quote from bible.

i'm a struggling retiree locked into an unfair retirement/ss offset law.

i've been very ill. i have been taken advantage of, but also i have been helped by selfless people.

since my leaving my home is limited, i am working to wee hrs of the morning trying direct lost souls to my tv church to study how to get out of eternal danger!

yes, i am rich spiritually, and am concerned for my fellow
man that hasn't heard GOD'S truth yet!

my tv church is:
http://www.shepherdschapel.com
this is strictly bible, book by book, chapter, by chapter, vs by vs.

What would you do? Take their money away? I don't have a lot, but I like the idea that any money I do have is mine. And if I ever finally win the lottery, I don't want someone to take it from me because someone else has less.

I have real compassion for the downtrodden on this earth. The poor should be sterilized at birth to prevent more of them being created.
I carry a pocket full of condoms and pass them out to the poor. this is the only way I see of helping them cope.

Hey, this is just a great question! I'm not wealthy but I feel bad for many people who don't even have a place to sleep. Little kids in the streets begging for food. That hurts me and I the world should change!

A miser will never be happy because they are always haunted by worries parting with money. If they don't feel guilty, they surely are accumulating stress.

I have been almost in that position years ago, and my brother not so long ago. I helped him and his family and even now I am trying to help, buy food, or paying bills. And the strange thing is, I have the minumum income. And I am still there for others. I think rich people should look around and not hide behind their money or houses. Everybody is equal in this world. So they don't stand on top of this world. I bet that when they face a difficult problem, they would panic and don't know what to do and it will be maybe because, they can not order a couch in their favourite colour. While homeless have so much more to deal with.

Rich and poor: Bad and good, Neat and ugly, black and white, East and west, religious and non religious, peace and violence etc etc...all these who has designed ?
It's GOD. No doubt. Else he will not have any entertainment but to look at the millions of celestial bodies roaming around in a system. Only deviation from system creates growth.OK. Don't worry.

U see not everyone feels the way u do, i do agree that there is a lot of discrimination, but thats the way we have made our society. the growing gap between the have's and the have not's is just an indicator of the society we are living in, U can create awareness but the change has to come from within....I'm with u

Most rich people are the ones helping the poor. Also it's not their fault they knew how to make it in life. They took responsibility for themselves. Yes, some were born into rich families, but they didn't blow the money away. I am very poor, but I know it's my fault. I had every chance to not marry young, have kids young, not go to college. why should the rich feel guilty because they did right? That's why I'm not a Democrat anymore, I can't sit and wait for the world to take care of me. I must do it.

Every time I fill with gas I think to myself I wonder how high can it go, then I look at the oil company's raking in huge profits. I see no relief in sight from it. I do think that there is an unequal distribution of wealth and the repuglican party does nothing to help this with its supply side economics's which has never work and has always resulted in a recession such as the one we are in now. I look at it this way if you have a pile of boxes and want to move the pile you do not lift from the top. If you do you only move one box. If you lift from the bottom you lift the whole pile. Bill Clinton was on to something with his consumer driven economics. The country as a whole was moving in the right direction, it didn't take long for George Bush to change all of that.

unfortunately these wealthy people who dont practise charity, sonny2much and his typical callous attitude and limited brain space. if everyone had to give a certain percentage each year in a fair honest reliable system then the world would be a better place poverty is a societys disease it needs sorting.

Some of those people in the entertainment industry, Bob Geldorf and Bono for instance, worked tremendously hard to acquire the wealthy they have. They also work tremendously hard on behalf of the people of Africa, Indoneasia and South America. I don't believe they gouged anyone to get that money; people enjoyed their music or talent and were willing to pay for the priviledge of enjoying it. Being aware of their good fortune, they are paying it back.

Much maligned Bill Gates, quite possibly the richest man in the world, does the same. He's donated millions, possibly billions, to education. Again, he WORKED for his money. If you don't like his ethics, don't support his products with your money.

You are making very broad generalisations, implying people with wealth as greedy, insensitive people. Too many people forget that the quote is not, "money is the root of all evil" but "the love of money is the root of all evil". If the money is used for humanitarian purposes, how can that rich man be evil?

Check your attitude.

some actually donate to the less fortunate. but i wonder if they do have empathy.
i know that i am rather comfortable and i donate a lot of money and help people but i often wonder if it really helps.
i donated $25,000 to katrina and after the mayor said the chocolate remarks i was very upset. my money was green and i am white. i donated the money to help mankind because i care. did you notice after that he was never heard from again?

he needed to sit down and shut up. then i heard about the $2000 debits card and how people were buying purses and expensive things that were really not needed. they were getting food, free housing and clothes, i never saw so many nice free clothes at the give away banks in my life! you see you have to be practical and you were not taught be that way then the people should have been coached. there are people that are here in chicago and have come to me and said they are glad that the hurricane hit because coming here is the best thing that ever happened. they have a good job and they have people helping them get an education and everything is just better all the way around.

people have choices...we cannot make their choices for them.

Comrade,
the Party send you, hereby, its congratulations for your excellent speech. It's a very, very good performance, really.

We hope that everything is okay for you and that you can hold the pressure. Continue that way and we can assure you that all your efforts will be soon awarded. Once we will have taken over imperialism a great surprise will await you personally.

Our sole advises are the following. Read it carefully.

1) instead of saying "...to their enormously empty house..." you could say "...to their enormously big and shameful shiny empty mansion guarded by those ridiculous valets of imperialism...".

2) change "the wealthy" for "valets of imperialism".

3) change "million of dollars" for "the money stolen to the proletarian class". Don't be affraid and remember that the 1st Amendment grant you the right to say everything you want.

4) you said in your text that "the wealthy donate". It's true of course but don't say that again because some comrades are already wondering whether you are not secretly nurturing some sympathy for those enemies of the people. You wouldn't like to be put on touch. Don't you?

Please, do not insist too much on the entertainment industry. We already have gained certain influence over entertainment industry!

Thanks again,

Your beloved,

Comrade "X".

As a westerner I believe we must be self-reflective when asking who the wealthy are. Yes poverty exists on our own streets, but the reality is that most people in the world are poor. Many of us "middle class" are in fact very rich compared to the average person on the planet.

The average income per capita in our nations most developed countries ranges between $20,000-$45,000+ a year. The average income for a human on Earth is roughly $3000 a year. This means that if you make $30,000 a year you make 10 times the money the average guy makes!

The Average guy makes $3,000 a year, but most people on the planet only make a dollar a day (about $300 a year). So if you make $30,000 you are making 100 times what more than half the worlds population earn in a year!

If you are westerner you have access to, clean drinking water, more food than you need, telephone, Internet, products from all over the world, garbage service, indoor plumbing, doors and windows, cars, bicycles, and good pubic transportation, all of the things we take for granted, etc.

If you make 100 times what the "other half" make, well you are rich.

The question than becomes, "Do WE feel guilty knowing the amounts of poor and homeless that coexist with us?"

Yes a few of us (the very rich) make hundreds of times what the middle class make. But the truth of the matter is that if you are reading this, your are either "Middle class" or "Rich", and that you are a accomplice to the poverty.

Our nations take advantage of the worlds poor to fund our western appetite, for oil, coffee, tea, clothing, everything, etc.

It is us that make the rich empowered to take advantage of the poor. We do their bidding; work for them, buy from them, pay taxxes, fight in their wars, etc.

When are we going to fix the problem?

I find the tone of your question very offensive. You insinuate that people are poor because others are rich, and you suggest that they should feel guilty. Your entire premise is false. People don't become rich by taking away from the poor (at least most don't), but by serving others in a way that others value most. That is the only way to earn money legally. And most of the people who are wealthy have become wealthy through legal means.

There is nothing morally wrong with making money. It is hateful of you to say so. Why do you have such envy toward people who earn what they make?

Many wealthy people DO donate some of their money to help others with short-term needs. But, more importantly, they employ thousands of other people who wouldn't have jobs if they weren't putting together the projects and businesses that can create value.

Before you go casting guilt around, look to yourself. What are you doing to build a better world. It truly isn't about donating. It's about creating productivity. Creating conflict, like you are trying, is not productive, and merely divides society.

I hope she doesn't represent the majority opinion, otherwise socialism is just around the corner. This country has transferred trillions to the poor through our wealth redistribution taxes for decades, obviously it isn't working. If people like her get their way, all of your hard earned money will be given away to lazy bums.

Dang right! Why should Barbra Streisand have unoccupied mansions on both coasts that are climate controlled when she's not even there? Why should Eminem make so much money when any punk on the street can imitate him? Why should the Kennedys have a fortune built on the illegal importation of Irish alcohol during the Prohibition Years?

Why should people have to suffer the consequences of their own choices? Why shouldn't the government just take care of all of us? You know, from each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs?

What if you were good in school, studied hard and got a scholarship to a decent school. Heck, you might have gotten a free 4 year education, started a brilliant career and made something of yourself. You might have been one of the wealthy people you love to hate. Then you would have to worry about human waste like you that continues to trade freedom for security by electing politician who barter away our heritage of self-determination for power.

Then you would be asking very different questions, wouldn't you?