OK, I saw this site featured on CNN... http://www.modestneeds.org It seems like a neat and very honorable idea. But can it really work? It seems to be just so ripe for fraud. It would be different if he actually made people come to him to ask for the money -- at least scare off some people -- but over the internet, it just seems too easy to scam him. Take a look at his ledger here: http://www.modestneeds.org/ledger/ Unless the dude has boatloads of money, his outflows are going to run circles around his inflows if he even funds a fraction of these things.
I'm guessing that he doesn't just give out the money without any sort of verification from the requestor. Now, I don't know how he would do that, but I'm guessing he tries. Also, he probably really can't concern himself with that. I'd prefer to run a site like that thinking most of the requests were from truly needy people and not from assholes who want an extra $40 or something.
I agree -- and that's what he said on TV. Basically, he said it's likely that some peopel are committing fraud, but he can't worry about that and it won't stop him from doing what he thinks is right. Again, very noble. However, now that he just said on TV that he's not going to worry about the people committing fraud, that just makes it that much more likely people will try. Fraud spreads like crazy on the internet, and if he gets reputation for giving away money, the fraud will skyrocket. Most of the requests are in the few-hundred-dollar range, so that will attract anyone from greedy college students to professional liars.
Didn't he say that the largest request was only like $500 or something like that, and most of them were in the $40 range?
It would also be one thing if it was just him, but he's soliciting donations as well. If people don't know the potential for fraud (which they don't, because the validity of the requests isn't mentioned on the site), people may not realize that they might be donating their money to potential scammers.
Didn't he say that the largest request was only like $500 or something like that, and most of them were in the $40 range? I only saw the tail-end on CNN, but if you look at that ledger link up top, it lists all the requests. $26,000 in requests, only 15 of them are under $100 (about $1000 worth).
reminds me of "Pay It Forward" or that Oprah Winfrey toll booth thing. There is always someone out there to screw a good idea though. It is a good idea - admirable.
Hey -- can't you two just carry on this conversation in your office? Well, I was HOPING to get other peoples' input, but apparently no one else is interested!
Personally, I never understood why guys like this even get questioned in the first place. Is there fraud? Probably. Does it matter? Not really. St. Francis of Assisi said, "For it is in giving that we receive." No one knows that the money he gives won't be the difference maker for someone. No one can know that the homeless guy on the corner might use that dollar to turn his life around. Giving is just GIVING. It isn't about efficient use of resources or fraud. More important than his giving, IMO, however is his example. If more people were open to this kind of caring and thoughtful giving of themselves, we wouldn't need the welfare system so many complain about.
Giving is just GIVING. It isn't about efficient use of resources or fraud. That's true when it's just him giving his own money away. When he's soliciting donations and trying to become a non-profit organization that will get tax exemptions and such, fraud certainly is relevent.
Why spend money on food? Why spend money on shelter? Why spend money on electricity in that shelter? Why spend money for hot water in that shelter? Why spend money for gas in that shelter? Why spend money for transportation to job? Why spend money on necessary clothes for yourself or your children?
That would be true if there was a living wage in existence. There is a book called "Nickel and Dimed" where the author took various low-income jobs and tried to survive. As it was put in one review, "Even in her best-case scenario, with all the advantages of education, health, a car, and money for first month's rent, she has to work two jobs, seven days a week, and still almost winds up in a shelter." This is absolutely trimming her budget to the bare minimum. She's an educated woman. She has a car. She's healthy. She has no kids. That is the absolute BEST case scenario possible and she cannot deal with a low-wage income. Imagine having no education, no car, poor health or kids or worse, a combination of several of those possibilities. Major: If donors understand who and what they are giving for, there is no issue. Homeless shelters help people who will live on the streets for the remainder of their lives and they are still able to maintain donors and non-profit status.
BTW: I am STILL trying to figure out why this guy is being criticized or questioned for doing something selfless. I thought we all wanted more honesty and more kindness and more selflessness in society. Shouldn't we all be aspiring to those values and ideals rather than pointing out the flaws in them?
I'm not sure I get your point. What if clothing is outside your means? What if an apartment is outside your means? What if food for your kids is outside your means? And, failing that, if you are just talking about everday, middle class people, then, technically, buying anything that you cannot pay for with cash NOW is living beyond your means. Unless you intend to save up enough money to pay for a car or a house with cash, you will be living beyond your means when you purchase them.
Jeff: that was my answer to RM95's typical kneejerk-sarcasm reply. Would you like to hear some anecdotal evidence that contradicts your point? Because I can definitely do that, if you want. I don't doubt there's an author who proved that life's tough on $5.25 an hour. I also don't doubt she had every intention of proving that when she started-- I am generally skeptical of the objectivity of books like that. My original point was that most people that live paycheck to paycheck do so because of their own poor decision-making. I stand by that. Stop it. I think you know very well there's a difference between having a car payment and a mortgage and not being able to afford "clothes" or to pay bills on time.
My response was to your typical not knowing what the **** your talking about response. Have you ever lived paycheck to paycheck? I know plenty of people, myself included (before credit card debt) that did that very thing without making extravagent purchases, but living as well within their means as humanly possible.
