Charity shouldn’t begin at home for Save the Children (2012)

[Gavin]

In this great article for The Telegraph TD describes the culture of indolent vulgarity which is prevalent in the UK and attacks the one of greed and corruption which is plainly evident among the massive bureaucracies that laughably call themselves "charities".

I posted a link to this forum under the top rated comment in case any more intelligent commenters would like to join us here.

Not long ago I gave quite a lot of my possessions to the Salvation Army, because they seemed to be the least fake of the various charity shops which cover every high street now, interspersed only by casinos and pound shops. The staff seemed to be the most polite also, and this is a major factor in deciding wherever I go now, politeness being so rarely encountered, especially in anyone under the age of 25.

Not long afterwards, they started sending me letters and glossy leaflets. The letters told me how much money they had made selling what I had given them. As far as I was concerned this was a complete waste of money so I will not be giving to them again.

Also, of course, "chuggers" (charity muggers - young people employed by these greedy self-serving organisations to pester people into "donating" to their chief executives) - these should be banned. I believe Westminster council have actually taken action recently to restrict their activities.

[Mike]

Although I think TD overstates his case a little here (the sort of executive salaries he mentions for the heads of the charities are fairly moderate really, these days), the whole phenomenon is still pretty off-putting.

During her pregnancy, when she had to take leave from her regular job for physical reasons, my wife worked for a little while doing clerical work at one very well-known Australian charity (whose TV ads, I might add, take mawkishness to a new level). She was stunned at the level of bureaucracy and overmanning/duplication there.

As for the chuggers...they're everywhere. The kids at my school happily add another line to their CV by doing it, probably in the full belief that they're doing something truly worthwhile at the same time, rather than simply pestering commuters (which is what it boils down to).

[Connor]

"Chuggers".... I haven't heard that term before, but I like it!

In the past, I've also had problems with being accosted on busy streets by these people. They usually want you to sign up for some charity that requires your credit card number. In many ways, these people make me more uncomfortable than actual street beggars - at least the latter only want some spare change, and not direct monthly payments.

I've actually never thought about making such a thing illegal, but I think it's a fair proposal. After all, street performers need a license to perform in most major cities, and street-begging itself is actually illegal in some places (particularly on public transportation). Why not get rid of the "chuggers" too?

It's interesting to examine the psychology behind the young people who get into this "chugger" business. Most of them are probably idealistic and think they're doing something that "makes a difference." In other words, this charity they work for is a much nobler cause than simply working for some soulless, private business, which they couldn't bare to do. Yet aren't they actually exhibiting the worst behaviors that you sometimes see in the business world? The pushiness, the manipulation, the outright conning of other people? I think the "chuggers" have got all those areas covered themselves.

[praxeologue]

Those suspicious of single metrics, such as high wages in the charity sector, might want to listen to a great interview which nudged my thinking on the issue somewhat - http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2013/0 ... n_cha.html