The Amazing Generosity of America's Poor

By Katherine Gustafson | Tuesday, June 16, 2009 9:09 AM ET

Perhaps you imagined that the people on the bottom rungs of the economic ladder would be pinching every last penny to make ends meet.

If so, you're surprisingly wrong. According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey, the poorer you are in the United States, the larger the percentage of your income you're inclined to give to charity. So inclined, in fact, that you often end up giving more than your pocketbook can really handle.

The research, conducted in 2007, found that the poorest 20 percent among us give more than they have in the budget, amounting to an average of 4.3 percent of their income. We're talking about people who don't have much to spare: the poorest fifth's average income was $10,531 that year. (And since the poor don't earn enough to make itemizing deductions worthwhile, their donations are effectively non-tax-deductible.) The richest 20 percent, on the other hand, donated an average of only 2.1 percent of what they made. Their incomes? Oh, a piddly $158,388, on average.

To put it in stark terms: In 2007, the richest one-fifth brought in 15 times the income of the poorest one-fifth, but only donated about eight times what the poorest people did.

As Stephen Colbert would say, let's give "a tip of the hat" to the lowest-earning among us for their incredible generosity, and "a wag of the finger" to our richest citizens for failing to open their wallets a little wider.
THIS ARTICLE TALKS ABOUT THESE PEOPLE, PLACES AND MORE:
Semper Veritas

Link,
http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/the_ ... ica_s_poor

The same has been found down here.
A recent item on one of the TV channels was showing how a Mrs X was surviving on the meagre pension payed by the govt and she revealed some of the methods she used in order to pay the rent and utilities, as well as eat well and stay healthy. The surprising thing is that she also budgeted to be able to make some charitable donations to needy folk - in fact, her last year's donations were just a tad over $1,100! They are the type of people who are most likely to survive when TSHTF