How Giving Impacts the Economy

How Giving Impacts the Economy

By: Amanda Hughes

“Kindness is the language that the deaf can hear and the blind can see”- Mark Twain

I want you to think for a minute-- what was the last random act of kindness you’ve done? Did you hold the door for someone? Cheer someone up who was feeling down? Or have you even gone so far as giving money to a poor soul that was on the streets? Many may underestimate the impact that these small gestures carry. They may never think twice about how meaningful a simple smile is to some stranger.

Now, in an economical standpoint, kindness may seem overrated, but it is just the opposite. Suppose that someone is volunteering at a soup kitchen handing out dinner to the homeless/poor. In a sense, that person’s decision to be there implies and opportunity cost. This person chose to give up precious time that they could have used to be with family or friends. However, instead of staying in at home with family watching some ABC Family Christmas special, the person willingly made the choice to volunteer at some soup kitchen to help those that are less fortunate.

Now, you may be thinking “kindness isn’t really all that powerful in the idea of economics,. Economics is about how money works, not about being nice to strangers. Get off your high horse”, and while it may be true that economics is the fundamentals about how money works, I will argue that kindness plays a role in it.

Non-profit charities generate roughly 1.1 trillion dollars every year. This alone makes up more than 5 percent of the country’s GDP. Research also reports that for one in every ten workers in the U.S are employed in a non-profit sector. This equates to 13.7 million jobs nationwide, paying a total of 587.7 billion dollars in wages and benefits. As a part of the non-profit organizations, much of the revenue comes from generous donors. Depending on what the charity stands for, the impact it makes to the nation will vary. These efforts include:technology and scientific breakthroughs to improve our health, like insulin, the polio vaccine, the MRI, electron microscope and pacemaker, educational opportunities and access to health services, housing and shelter for the most vulnerable, the arts and cultural activities, protection of the environment, civil and voting right, and preservation of historic treasures.

So yes, kindness and charities are social and financial influences when it comes to the economics. It may seem like these kinds of things hold no value in the world of money, but they are definitely more important than most people care to think twice about.

Works Cited

"Charitable Giving in America." CHARITABLE GIVING COALITION RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2016

"Feeling Good about Giving: The Benefits (and Costs) of ..." N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2016

."Why Kindness Is the Key to a New Economy." OpenDemocracy. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Dec. 2016.

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