Nor the television (Scottish). Nor the radio (Canadian and Italian).
LuckyPierre
joined 1 month ago
They're being shaken down. Same as Mark Zuckerberg being summoned to a meeting with Trump and the next day paying $1m to the same fund.
I'm betting these meetings went something like, "You don't want a president as an enemy, do you? Cough up."
And don't think of it as a tax on the rich - it's not going towards the benefit of the American people. It's extortion.
Same in the UK - and in part it's encouraged by the regulatory body, the Charity Commission to ensure competent senior staff. (Not usually as high as the example you give, but certainly most large charities pay senior grade around £100k and upwards.
You can kind of see that point, but most people would be shocked and dismayed to know how little difference their individual donation makes.
I always encourage people to check this information as you've done for your country before donating. Many charities can do a huge amount of good with small donations, but it's the big ones that can make effective change through lobbying.
But the more cynical amongst you will realise that charities exist on paper to solve problems. There is an inherent contradiction that if they do solve those problems, everyone that works for them is suddenly out of work.
Fun fact: Where I live (Devon, England), every common person once had to spent two days a month working for their local Lord for free, maintaining the roads. That's as well as paying rent to them, of course. Plus, they had to provide tithes to the Church as well as grow or raise enough food for their family. And if they had any strong sons that might be particularly useful in working their meagre strip of land, they'd be conscripted for the Crown's armies.
They worked 7 days a week. Incredibly hard and long days by our standards. The only half day they got off was to go to church, which wasn't really optional. (You weren't forced, but the whole community turned against you if you didn't)
You should do this for other countries too. America isn't the only country with an idealised view of what other people think of them.