To you think it's the obligation of the rich to help the poor?
Like @Jadyclem think that 'obligation' is too strong but they definitely do have a moral and ethical responsibility to help others less fortunate.
I think the question would have been better worded as 'Do people with more have an ethical and moral responsibility to help those with less'
It's not actually about 'rich' and 'poor' as both these terms are relative to one another so its more about people doing whatever they can to help those less fortunate.
But its not just about people helping each other. There are organisations and corporations with absolutely huge cash reserves. Apple's cash reserve was reported for 2018 Q1 as $285.1 billion ........read it again. $285.1 billion US dollars. Now by anyones estimation, that is a huge sum of money laying around, and whilst I'm in no way anti-capitalist, this amount of cash laying in a bank account doing nothing is extreme vulgarity.
For a little perspective, according to UNICEF over 29,000 children die each day due to simply preventable causes. There are 1.3 billion people in this world living in extreme poverty classed as living on under $1.25 per day. 2300 people around the world die each day of Diarrhea! They are part of 750 million people around the world who don't have access to clean drinking water, decent sanitation or hand hygiene products like soap!
Now remembering these facts, how much could that $285 billion USD go towards helping alleviate these problems? But there are more than just Apple, look at this list of the top 5 US companies with cash parked overseas in bank accounts:-
And what about nations?
The United States last year felt it necessary to sign into law, a budget of $700 billion dollars for defence spending in 2018, and for more shocking info on how much nations spend on the military, read this:-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_military_expenditures
Even organisations like the Catholic Church which has vast sums of cash flowing through it does no where near enough to help the world's many issues caused by the current financial models.
Until we can change these current financial systems, hopefully using Blockchain technologies and asking people to alter their attitudes to consumerism, people will continue to die directly and indirectly from abject poverty.
How disgusting is that in 2018 and this age of advanced technology and wealth?
Since writing this. I've changed my mind. The rich individuals, companies, nations and organisations definitely fucking DO have an obligation to help the less fortunate dying from a simple case of the shits.
What do you think mate as you asked the question ?
It's an interesting circle of causation. The richest groups and individuals actually feel financial insecurity, which makes them horde excess reserves instead of being generous. Yet why do they feel this perennial insecurity? Well because of the actions they themselves are taking and the effect it has on the world!
Ultimately, we each have to be able to arrive at the idea of "enough" so that others can possibly have anything approaching enough.
I think it is a responsibility to make a better world for everyone. When the rich helps the poor, many problems will be solved. We wont have poverty and nobody needs to steal and go to jail.
Do you ever consider how much we DO help? Look around at people who can't afford life. They get housing, food, medical, daycare, often at the expense that those who made good decisions.
Yes there are still poor people and yes it is sad... But those who complain about poverty never give credit to how much is being done.
The proof is in the elderly, the poor, schools, etc.
It's a tough question, because if you feed and save all the people and they all reproduce you expand the problem.
I personally do feel an obligation, I also hate the military budget, but I do NOT feel I have the right to mess with anyone else's values or decide what they are obligated to do.
Edit and Update: I do not feel an obligation... I feel a desire to help.
Thats a great response and I was using extreme examples but I always look away from UK where there is possibly too much done for people and always get back to tragic statistics and stuff I have seen with my own eyes where people have absolutely nothing and feel there is such a massive disparity in the world. Regardless of the whys and wherefores it seriously needs addressing, sadly much of the issue lies with greed and awful governance.
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Only buy something that you'd be perfectly happy to hold if the market shut down for 10 years.