Wealth & Charity : Why the Rich Give Less Than the Poor

In addition to hosting the podcast, Erika works to raise funds for a nonprofit. For years, she's wanted to understand why the wealthy give less than the poor. Throughout her research, she had continuously stumbled upon assertions that the rich tend to give a much smaller portion of their wealth than those with much less. This is deeply concerning because it spells the death of so many important causes that are simply unable to obtain the funding needed to help those in need. Because capitalism causes wealth to accumulate into fewer and fewer hands, the poor are increasingly unable to give while the rich are becoming less willing to offer charity.

Since our friend Abby (IG: @politicalpsychwithabby) has a solid background in political psychology, I asked her to shed some light on the mentality fostered by extreme wealth and how this leads the rich to become less giving. She has composed a YouTube video on this topic, which you can find here. I recommend that you check out her other videos, all of which tackle political issues from a psychological perspective. 

Abby is pursuing her Masters in Political Psychology. She’s been collaborating with me from the UK, though she is originally from the US.  You can find her on Instagram @politicalpsychwithabby, and she also has a YoutTube channel called Political Psych with Abby (https://tinyurl.com/politicalpsychwithabby)

Here are some of the articles we discuss in this episode:

Stern, Ken. “Why the Rich Don’t Give to Charity.” April 2013.

Olen, Helaine. “Why Don’t America’s Rich Give More to Charity?” December 16, 2017.

Useem, Jerry. “Power Causes Brain Damage.” July 2017.