Posted by
Jim Hunt on Wednesday, December 10, 2008 8:00:00 AM
Recently I have been hearing ads on the radio encouraging people to give money to charity rather than buying gifts for others. Now I want to be clear that I am all for charity. But the best way to make sure that charities have enough to help those in need is to make sure that fewer people need the charities. The way to do that is to get our economy moving again.
This cannot be done from Washington, it is not up to the government; it is up to you. When you buy a gift, think about what that means; think about the impact of the money you spend. Your purchase helps to pay the salaries of the employees of the store, the trucking company that delivers the product, the manufacturers of the product, the people who maintain and build the trucks for the trucking company, the people who maintain the building the store is in and many more. These people, thanks to you, have jobs so they can go out and buy gifts for their friends and family and the cycle continues and grows.
This is how America works. If you don’t buy gifts, none of this happens and the cycle reverses. So I will give you a different suggestion: take a page from Bank of America’s Keep the Change™ program. Keep track of all of your gift purchases. Round each one up to the nearest $5.00 and give the difference to your favorite charity. This way you not only help those in need, but you help keep others from being in need. Help us all to have a very Merry Christmas this year.
God Bless America