A society can really only be called “advanced” if it is able to care for its very poor, those that are cold, homeless and hungry. This is unfortunately not the case almost anywhere in the world. Wouldn't it be something quite momentous if one could change this. If one could awaken the desire to help those in dire need, then life for very many poor people in the world could be changed for the better quickly and significantly. For the last few years we have heard a lot of complaints about the wealthy 1 % in the world. We have seen demonstrations spearheaded by the “99 %”, that in the end petered out, perhaps because no real alternatives could be offered. But there may be a way to motivate the top 1 % to approach this problem in a positive and constructive way. we need a formula where the 1 % need not feel defensive about their wealth and where the 99 % can say that something significant is being done about the income gap between the poor and the wealthy. in this way we could bring these two groups together. Since change starts small however, it requires an idea that is not too invasive upon one’s lifestyle, but still creates a major impact. So the idea is, if the 1 % of the wealthy are given an avenue to voluntarily donate 1 % of their annual income to a registered national charity and this would be disbursed through various social agencies to support individuals and families that cannot feed, clothe or house themselves properly, then this would offer the 1 % a golden opportunity to do good and the very poor, a chance to stay warm, eat and live in a decent dwelling. In this way, the 1% could truly do something towards reducing poverty on a global basis. Just to give you an idea, in 2013 the top 1 % (275,000) in Canada earned an average of $ 380,000 per year. If one quarter of them would donate 1 % of their income per year, (or an average of $3800 per year) then this would contribute about $ 260,000,000 in a one year period. The figures for the US are approximately the same (except the number of 1% earners is about ten times as many). These estimates vary according to source but the principle remains the same. Just as a comparison, it is estimated that the bottom 1% earned an average of $2,500 in the same period. Just think of the housing, food and clothing that this could pay for the poorest among us. That would be a great beginning!
