Limits of Charity

Living in the city, I see quite a few homeless people spending days, weeks, months and even years on the street. As I walk to my office I pass several homeless men, many of whom have been on the same street corner for several years. But in my daily movement throughout my urban environment I also pass many others who I have never seen and will probably never see again.

Like many others, I feel guilty when I avert my eyes or shake my head and silently look at them asking me for a handout. In recent years I have felt more and more charitable but not towards these people. I leave large tips lately, not for excellent service but after I think for a few minutes about the life of the person serving me, their economic status and uncertainty and their obvious desire to have more in their life than the job they have serving me. I have also noticed myself giving more and more to strangers in other spheres as well. But unfortunately the homeless get very little from me.

Why? Well I have thought about it a good deal. If I were to stop and speak to the street beggar I might say that I can give him some money without suffering any perceptible hardship--I have a bank account full of money, after all. And not only can I give him a dime or quarter today, but I could probably give a dollar every day for the remainder of my working life and I wouldn't suffer for it.

But should I? And if I gave a dime or a dollar every day to one gentleman panhandler, which would it be? Why choose one over another?

This may be fuel for the argument that instead of individual, ad-hoc charity, we ought to all pool our money and give it to either the government or to a non-profit to be used in some form of assistance for the poor. Then we wouldn't have to make these decisions on how much, how often and to whom. And further, we can assume that non-profits at least know something about helping the poor get back on their feet and they would channel the money to its most favorable use, eliminating any danger of someone buying liquor or drugs with the coins he saves up.

I brought up this question one time with a man who asked me for money on the street one day. I don't remember exact details but I did say to him that I see half a dozen homeless men every day and that I could give them all my money if I wanted to, but should I? And if not, when? His answer was that I should give when I feel like it, when I feel charitable. I guess he was saying that charity is an emotional decision, not a rational one.