2%

In a recent New York Times article, Turkish billionaire and philanthropist Husnu M. Ozyegin complains at his lack of international renown despite the fact that he is "giving away 2 percent of [his] net income every month.” As Ozyegin notes, "[he doesn't] think Bill Gates is doing that.” Probably not. I'm happy to see Ozyegin at least thinks of his giving in terms of the share of his income he contributes, but, if anything, that makes it more clear how many of the world's wealthiest, including the world's largest philanthropists, are actually quite stingy. Consider that we know that working poor folks contribute more than higher income folks, with both groups contributing more than 2% of their income on average annually. The tendency of the wealthy contribute a smaller share of their income is even more unfortunate in light of the growing concentration of wealth at the top of the US income distribution [Hat Tip: Think Progress].

We often hear that conservatives contribute more to charity, but that seems to me something we should expect. As a progressive who does believe that civil society has a critical role to play in social change and addressing social needs, I nevertheless also know that my conservative friends and colleagues are much more likely to believe that non-governmental organizations, including churches in particular, offer solutions to social problems that I believe the public sector must address. In combination with the possibility that folks left-of-center give less to religious organization, maybe our tendency to believe more in the ability of government to solve our collective problems leads us to contribute less to charitable organizations?