Just because people have it worse off somewhere else does not mean that people don't also have it bad here. There are people in the states who have raw sewage dumped into their yards every time it rains. There are children who starve here. We could house everyone here, if we made it a priority. It's unconscionable to me.

By all means, continue to aid the organizations that bring you happiness. I will continue to try and make a positive impact on the sphere I am familiar with (generally the Pacific Northwest.)

I regularly do give up money and time, in multiple ways. From purchasing land and reforesting it then protecting it with conservation easements, to giving to social housing efforts, to giving aid to overseas organizations.

That said, I don't view raising taxes as philanthropy. To me it's about maintaining the minimum set of societal standards that anyone should be able to enjoy -- housing, healthcare, food, etc. should be accessible to anyone, no questions asked. If that means that those of us at the top need to operate with less income, then I see that as a good tradeoff.

That said, I'm only interested in folks who really are at the very top of the income brackets.