The United States is the wealthiest nation in modern recorded history. Throughout our history, this abundance of wealth has also triggered a sense of social responsibility, a belief that control over this wealth was not about ownership or entitlement but about temporary custody. As custodians of this bounty, we are compelled to take care of others, give back to our communities, make the world a better place, and look out for the less fortunate among us.
That is the belief that drove Andrew Carnegie, an immigrant no less, who endowed most of the nation’s great public libraries and who believed fervently that the stark inequalities of wealth will always be dramatic and therefore, the rich must support the poor. John D. Rockefeller, despite his ruthless tactics as an oilman, created a legacy of philanthropy that endures to this day. Bill and Melinda Gates have chosen to use their wealth to improve the health and welfare of the people of Africa and have led the effort to encourage other billionaires to follow suit.
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Charity and good works have not been the exclusive preserve of the wealthy and the prosperous; Americans are renowned worldwide as a profoundly generous people. A recent study of data from 128 countries, the World Giving Index report produced by the Charities Aid Foundation, concluded that Americans were the most generous people on earth between 2009 and 2018 when considering monetary donations, volunteering and helping a stranger. The 2019 Giving USA report confirms that total charitable giving in the U.S. in 2018 was $427.7 billion, the second-highest total ever.
Despite these encouraging numbers, there is a sense that America is becoming a place where “me” is more important than “us,” where there is greater emphasis on self than on others. Are we becoming a prosperity-obsessed society? Have we became overly concerned with the mundane things in life that give us little or no significance? A bigger home, more expensive cars, and other luxuries? I fear that we are becoming too self-absorbed and too greedy.
We live in a time and a place where the new emphasis is “show me the money.” The rush to gain new wealth and increase our financial worth is overshadowing the importance of our societal responsibility to give our time and ourselves. And, this is happening at a time when the middle class is shrinking and when large pockets of poverty are expanding in many communities all over America, particularly in the wake of the disappearance of good-paying manufacturing jobs in the Rust Belt and Midwest. One can point to the widening gap between corporate chief executives’ compensation (even for failing corporations) and that of their employees as a clear example of the growing gap between the haves and the have-nots.
A nation that harbors a large, soft underbelly of poverty and economic inequality is not prosperous; it is primed for unrest. Indeed, financial prosperity may create a person that is monetarily independent, but it does not necessarily make for a better person — and it does not make for a better society.
While there is still uncertainty about the long-term effect of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, an estimated 20 million fewer Americans claimed a charitable tax deduction for 2018. With less tax incentive to give because charitable donations are no longer exempt, we may continue to see fewer Americans donating, and smaller donations from those who do.
What is the meaning of prosperity? Are we a nation of individuals more concerned about what’s in it for ourselves or a society committed to using our prosperity to respond to others’ needs and solve the challenges that hold us back. Imagine what we can do together. What if we defined prosperity by those we lift up, those we make stronger and all those whom we enable to create their own prosperity and in turn pay it forward? Our measurement and definition of the value added of prosperity should be anchored on that very old measurement — time, talent and treasures.
Benjamin Ola. Akande is assistant vice chancellor for international affairs-Africa, Washington University in St. Louis. Abass Babatunde is a graduate fellow at the university.