Studies show that middle-class & poorer people give higher proportions of their money to charity than the wealthy . Several studies look at how your wealth, education, & prestige of your career or family predict generosity. And the results are consistent: poorer people assist other people more than wealthy people. When you lack institutional support, when you face threats in life, the only way to survive your environment is to connect with other people. You reach out to people more. You form strong social ties. You need them, & they need you. An upper middle-class life takes a lot of the suffering out of the environment. Our kids don’t die at the same rate as poor kids. They’re pretty healthy. They live in safer neighborhoods. But what we lose, ironically, is exposure to suffering. We don’t learn how to handle people in need.
At greatergood.berkeley.edu
