Noah Minch

Cain

Block. 2

December 12, 2017

Charity Ethics Essay

Every day, America’s outlook on Moral and ethical values shift backwards, further and

further. In the past, volunteer work and opportunities were almost an expectation, and very rarely

warranted and kind of reward, or what economic minded individual like to called “Incentives”.

However as Americas values shift to being increasingly capitalist, these incentives have become

a social norm, and almost an expectation for most volunteer projects. With this level of normalcy

towards incentives, individuals are encouraged to only give and work for others rewards and

other self-gains, which most would perceive as a very heartless and mercenary philosophy. The

issues and wrongs of incentives are that they can ultimately increase the skill gap between the

wealthy and poor, encourage selfish tendencies, and because incentives have the potential to

cause more problems in the long run.

“The Ethicist” Column presented gives a great example on where most people could see

morality in charity begins to blur. The more modern, capitalist view would support the notion of

extra credit, because it reinforces business habits and benefits everyone involved in the

“transaction of services” slightly. However the moral, and thus more correct view would oppose

extra credit benefits, because it provides unfair social and academic advantages to children from

a wealthier background. The exchange listed in the article could possibly boiled down to a

proportion, where 25 cans could equate to an additional three bonus points to a student’s overall
grade. If a student is unable to afford the 25 cans, he is then put at a disadvantage in the very

competitive world of standardized grading. This also encourages poor work ethic in wealthier

children, because they can choose not to study while still compensating for their GPA with

money.

When incentives become a standard for charitable behavior, it creates an environment

where people are unwilling to extend kindness to others without the expectation of a reward. It

creates an environment where people are only fueled by self-interest, rendering any and all

notions of charity superficial and false. An excellent example of this type of negative behavior

would be cancer drives and blood drives, when in exchange for a portion of your wallet, or a

portion of your body, you are rewarded with a shirt, or a tax break, or catalog of useful coupons.

While the initial act of giving does benefit someone somewhere, most people would have never

“donated” in the first place without the promise of some other material gain. While this trend of

incentives continue, it is important for us to consider where we, or a close friend might be

without the assistance of a good Samaritan, the person who gives alms and care selflessly, only

operating out of the goodness of his/he heart.

One of the most brazen instances of incentives serving more evil then good can be found

in the form of cash incentives, which can create more problems in the long run. For example,a

charity offers a value of 25 dollars to individuals who donate shoes in working condition.

Without proper restrictions, an individual could attend the shoe store next door to the charity,

buy ten pairs of 20 dollar shoes, and then donate the shoes to the charity for a profit of 50 dollars.

There are several moral and market wrongs with this scenario, but the biggest issue is that

someone who is labeled a “Donor” just managed to steal fifty bucks from a non-profit

organization using a sleazy business tactic. With the understanding that the presented scenario is
a tad extreme, I will add it is hard to deny that all charities are entirely clean entities, and that

people who hold positions in organizations like the Red Cross and American cancer society. For

example, of all the funds donated to the American cancer society, 60 percent goes towards the

salaries of the organizations employees.

While several opportunist and capitalist may disagree with the fact that incentives

are wrong, we need to understand that charitable actions and volunteering time is not a minimum

wage job. Kindness is, and always will be its own reward. We need to remember that the

ultimate goal of charity is to give to those who need more than us, and to strengthen the

community, weather local or global, through kindness. And if someone chooses to reward us for

our actions, in the spirit of giving, we should take such rewards and give them right back to the

community.