Giving

Most of us have heard the saying: "Give a man a fish, and you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish, and you have fed him for a lifetime." It seems to me that the old saying may not go far enough. Giving a man a fish may provide a lesson along with the meal: the way to get a fish is to wait until someone gives you one. Simply handing out free food may, in the long run, do more harm than good.

It seems that most charity focuses on eliminating an immediate need without addressing the underlying problem. In fact, Mother Teresa herself, that icon of giving, has been criticized for perpetuating poverty, rather than trying to alleviate it. She is alleged to have said: "I think it is very beautiful for the poor to accept their lot, to share it with the passion of Christ. I think the world is being much helped by the suffering of the poor people." That, in my view, is not kindness.

Government charity is often in that vein: food stamps, unemployment payments, medicare, welfare and Section 8 housing vouchers address the need of the moment without doing anything about the underlying problem of poverty. The unintended result of this kind of charity is poverty that is passed down from generation to generation. Similarly, food kitchens and homeless shelters do nothing to address the underlying problems of poverty, addiction and mental illness that lead to homelessness in the first place.

I realize that there is a place for simply giving support to the needy. Victims of one-time disasters such as hurricanes need help now. Similarly, there are those who simply will never be able to take care of themselves for whatever reason. There is no point in trying to teach them to fish, because they simply cannot learn for whatever reason. In these instances, it is makes sense to provide what is needed. In my view, however, the more important task is addressing the underlying problems that leave people sick, uneducated and poor.

Recently, I have become a fan of Kiva.org, a micro lending organization that allows people to make no-interest loans to small businesses in the third world. The borrowers include taxi drivers in Moldova, small farms in Peru and grocery stores in Nigeria. The borrowers do pay interest to Kiva's local partners, but at lower rates than would otherwise be available to them, assuming that they could get a loan at all. One of the biggest problems in the third world is the lack of access to capital. Hopefully, these small loans help people grow their own businesses and move them up just a little bit towards economic Independence.

eBay "Giving Works" and MissionFish are a Scam

eBay now allows sellers to auction an item for charity. Sellers can agree, in advance, to donate anywhere from 10% to 100% of the proceeds to the charity of the seller's choice, so long as that charity is on eBay's approved list. The listing shows a cute little ribbon, telling the bidder that the auction is for the benefit of charity, as well as a short paragraph extolling the benefits of the particular charity that will benefit. What's more, eBay discounts its fees in connection with charity auctions. The discount is proportional to the percentage donated to charity; eBay gives up almost all its fees if the auction is 100% for charity. Sounds great, but sadly it is a scam.

In the fine print, it turns out that all donations must be made through "MissionFish." What's more, MissionFish takes a fee for its service. There is a small notice on each charity listing stating that a "small deduction may apply." Those words are in faint print and small type. There is no "may" about it, and the deduction certainly is not "small." In fact, MissionFish charges far more than eBay. That's right, you would be better off ignoring eBay's offer to waive part of its fees. Simply sell the item, pay the fees and donate the balance to charity. Far more will go to charity that way than if you take eBay up on its supposedly charitable offer.

MissionFish charges:

20% of the first $50

15% of the next $150

10% of the next $800 and

5% of the amount above $1,000

So, for an item that sells for $500, MissionFish will charge $72.50. That's right, MissionFish takes $72.50 from the charity for the "service" of delivering your $500. By way of comparison, on the same $500 item, eBay would charge a $4 insertion fee (at most), plus a $19.69 final value fee, for a total of $23.69. So, eBay does not waive its fee. Quite to the contrary, the fee nearly triples! And, what is worse, you do not even see it unless you look very carefully.

Here is how MissionFish and eBay hide the fact that they are stealing from charities. Again, say you auction an item for $500 to benefit charity. The buyer sends the money to you. You then take the $500 and give it MissionFish, which tells you that you made a donation of $500. You never find out that about 15% of your money went to MissionFish.

Finally, eBay (which owns paypal) gets a fee when the money is sent to you by the buyer. So, you end up with less than $500 because paypal/Ebay takes a bite up front, but then you have to give MissionFish the full $500 so that MissionFish/paypal can take their next bite. And, if you forget to feed MissionFish the full $500, they will bill your credit card. Want to take your credit card off their account? No problem, just enter a new card and click that you authorize them to charge that. The website does not allow you to simply remove your credit card.

Do not be fooled! If you want sell something for charity, by all means do it, but do not tell eBay. Just sell the item and donate the proceeds yourself.

Letting Go of Gay "Pride"

For years, western society has preached that being gay is a sin. Most gay people internalized that message and were ashamed of being gay. Eventually, some gays began to stand up for themselves, and they stopped being ashamed. Instead, they became proud. After all, being proud is, in most people's mind, the opposite of being ashamed. In fact, this new gay "pride" misses the point entirely and is ultimately counter productive to the gay rights movement.

Being gay is not something to be proud or ashamed of. Sexual orientation is a preference, and it does not make sense to be proud or ashamed of a preference. For example, no one is ever proud that they like ketchup, or cold weather, or that their favorite color is blue. The fact that people are born gay is not even the point. Being gay still simply means that someone has a sexual preference for people of their own gender. There is nothing to be proud or ashamed of, no matter what one prefers.

The use of the phrase "gay pride" is far more than a simple gramatical error. Quite to the contrary, it confuses the debate about gay rights and alienates straight people. It confuses the debate because it perpetuates the wrongheaded idea that sexual orientation is one of those things that we should be either proud or ashamed of. The entire point of the gay equality movement is that sexual preference is not something good or bad. Saying otherwise frames the issue in a way in which gays will lose. If sexual orientation is something to be proud or ashamed of, then straight people will surely decide that they are proud of being straight -- and that gays should be ashamed. It creates a pitched battle over who is better, gays or straights. That is the opposite of the message gays should be sending: we are different in our sexual orientation, but those differences do not make us better or worse than you.

United Airlines' Charity Policy

I had a few extra United Airlines upgrades in my account recently, and realized that I would not be able to use them before they expire. I know that United does not allow the sale of upgrades or miles, but they do allow members to donate miles. I therefore decided to donate my upgrades by holding a 100% charity auction on Ebay, with all the proceeds going to Kiva.org and Much Love Animal Rescue. In the listings, I expressly stated that the auctions were subject to United's rules, and that if United objected, I would remove the listings.

United waited until the listings were over, then told me I had violated their rules. Even though 100% of the proceeds went to charity, United still views what I did as a "sale." Moreover, United penalized me by taking away two systemwide upgrades which, based on the Ebay auctions, were worth $500 each. Even worse, United took away the upgrades from the Ebay bidders. So, they did not get what they bargained for. The charities already have the money, so I cannot get it back to return it! I protested with United, but got nowhere.

I am done with United Airlines. Hello American!

Cancer as a Political Issue

For the eight years of the Bush administration, our political were dominated by an irrational fear of terrorism. Even now, with President Obama providing immeasurably better leadership, terrorism still plays far too large a role in our political debate. Terrorism killed a total of approximately 3,000 people in the continental United States on September 11, 2001. It has killed approximately zero since then.

Cancer, on the other hand, kills thousands of people every day. Cancer is the greater threat to public health, by a huge margin. In fact, in terms of the threat to publich health, terrorism is lower than the common cold, while cancer is at the very top of the list. As far as I am concerned, a death by terrorism is no worse, and maybe in some ways much better, than a death by cancer. Yet, we spend far more money on preventing terrorism than we do preventing cancer.

The most important function of a government is to do for the people what they cannot do for themselves individual. This includes things like building roads, maintaining a currency, national defense and disease control. Basic cancer research is far too expensive and far too long term for any individual to undertake it alone. Only the government can fund it adequately.

Moreover, the benefits of successful advances benefit not just all Americans, but everyone on the entire planet -- as well as everyone who is born in the future. The market cannot provide adequate incentives under those circumstances.

If there is anything that our government should do for us, it is to fund basic cancer research and make the result as widely available as possible. This is something that we all have an interest in, and it should be a major political issue, well ahead of relatively smaller threats, such as terrorism.

Shimbashi Station

Shimabashi Station glistens and bustles in the late November rain.   We stand on the platform, overlooking the crowded square, criss-crossed by men and women carrying umbrellas.  Behind us, the rush of crowded subway cars.  Below us, the steam engine whistles on the hour.  Underneath the tracks, brightly-lit stores, well stocked and teeming with rush hour shoppers.  We turn, and hurry down the stairs towards the exit.   

We don't know it yet, but it is the last time it will ever be the same.  

Medical Hell, Part II: I Wish I Were a Dog

Our medical system is so badly broken, we would all be better off if we were all dogs or cats. I do not say that sarcastically; I believe my pets have received far superior medical care to what I have received, and at a far lower cost. We would do better to simply scrap our entire system, and replace it with what we give our pets.

My dog can get an appointment for a check-up within a day or two. I have to wait several months. My dog can see a specialist within a few days. Again, I wait for months. His wait at the emergency room is a fraction of mine. Moreover, his vet spends time with him and with me, explaining the situation, offering various options and even sympathizing when times are hard. Our vet returns phone calls. He even gave us his cell phone number, without me asking. Our vet also hands me all the medications my dog needs, without having to go to a pharmacy. Most importantly, our vet seems at least as knowledgable as any doctor I have met. The nurses I encountered while in the hospital were so bad I would have been better off without them. Doctors often seem to know their stuff, but spend so little time with each patient that it hardly matters. In every respect, our pets get far better medical care than we do.

The cost of this service is far lower than what we pay. My dog was hospitalized for five days, and the total cost was $1,900. I was in the hospital for 12 hours, and the co-pay to the hospital was over $3,000. The doctor charged me separately. Moreover, those are the amounts that I paid personally, with insurance. The insurance company paid more, and I paid the insurance company premiums every month for the privilege of paying those prices.

I am not sure why our medical system is so badly broken. Some might point to the high cost of medical malpractice insurance. While the cost is indeed high, it is not nearly high enough to play a material role in causing the problems we face. Perhaps different kinds of people become veterinarians rather than doctors. Maybe it is the absurd bureaucracy created by the insurance companies that has broken our medical system. It could be that the massive amount we spend on the last six months of life bogs the system down, whereas our pets euthenized when that is the merciful thing to do. I certainly am not qualified so say what is causing the problem, but I can say this: nex time I need medical care, I will be wishing I were a dog.