I mean, I don’t think there is anyone (or hardly anyone) who is applying to EA jobs and who is not rich by global standards. What do you have in mind when you’re thinking of those who are not “able to donate”? Unless by “EA job applications” you’re referring to like “GiveDirectly Field Officer” or something, in which case I agree, that would be a weird question to ask (but, I feel, still not completely unreasonable?).
While both are rich by global standards, someone in the top 10% ($20k/year) and someone in the top 1% (>$60k/year) have very different abilities to donate.
This becomes even more noticeable as relatively less rich people also often have to support their families, pay off debts, and can’t rely on a future inheritance.
ETA: One org used to ask something like: “if you earned $50k, how much would you donate and why?” which imho mitigates this (although not perfectly)
someone in the top 10% ($20k/year) and someone in the top 1% (>$60k/year) have very different abilities to donate
I mean, I agree with this, but also, I was able to donate 10% after tax when I was making around $14k/year working minimum wage. At the time I was living in the San Francisco Bay Area, and shared a not-great apartment with 2 other people, though I did have my own bedroom.
Asking the question, “how much money did you donate”, with no room for context, doesn’t seem like a great interview question to me — I would think it would be much more interesting to ask, “how do you decide how much to donate” or similar. My main disagreement, though, is with the idea that there are very many people applying to rich-country white-collar jobs who are simply not “able to donate”.
What do you have in mind when you’re thinking of those who are not “able to donate”?
I was thinking about people who don’t have any income, or who have significant uncertainty/stability in their futures, or who have large financial burdens/commitments.
If we’re talking about people who literally have no income… then it does seem odd to ask how much they are donating. Though I also think that if the question were asked, it would be an okay answer to say, “I’m not donating right now because I don’t have any income.” Do you disagree? I would also ask, are there very many such people applying to EA jobs? How do they feed, clothe, and shelter themselves?
As for HCOL… As I wrote in a cousin comment to this one, I was able to donate 10% after tax while working minimum wage in a an HCOL area and TBH I don’t have a ton of sympathy for those who say that they can’t afford to do so today. For example, if we look at the SF Bay Area (the most expensive metro area in the country), the total cost of living is only about 15% less than the US average. The California minimum wage is $16.50/hour, which is about $28,000 after tax, or about $24,000 adjusted for cost of living. That is still richer than 92% of the people in the world!
As for feelings of financial insecurity/instability… I think someone in the above situation is rich enough to be able to both save for the future and give to charity. Do you disagree?
Just to be clear, I am certainly not arguing that there are no people in the United States that aren’t rich enough to donate to charity. Those with expensive or debilitating medical issues, for example, might not be able to make enough money to donate. And those with recent criminal records, or crushing debt relative to income, also might not be able to — though this category seems like mostly a consequence of past decisions? And anyway, I would ask again, are there so many people like this applying to EA jobs?
I mean, I don’t think there is anyone (or hardly anyone) who is applying to EA jobs and who is not rich by global standards. What do you have in mind when you’re thinking of those who are not “able to donate”? Unless by “EA job applications” you’re referring to like “GiveDirectly Field Officer” or something, in which case I agree, that would be a weird question to ask (but, I feel, still not completely unreasonable?).
While both are rich by global standards, someone in the top 10% ($20k/year) and someone in the top 1% (>$60k/year) have very different abilities to donate.
This becomes even more noticeable as relatively less rich people also often have to support their families, pay off debts, and can’t rely on a future inheritance.
ETA: One org used to ask something like: “if you earned $50k, how much would you donate and why?” which imho mitigates this (although not perfectly)
I mean, I agree with this, but also, I was able to donate 10% after tax when I was making around $14k/year working minimum wage. At the time I was living in the San Francisco Bay Area, and shared a not-great apartment with 2 other people, though I did have my own bedroom.
Asking the question, “how much money did you donate”, with no room for context, doesn’t seem like a great interview question to me — I would think it would be much more interesting to ask, “how do you decide how much to donate” or similar. My main disagreement, though, is with the idea that there are very many people applying to rich-country white-collar jobs who are simply not “able to donate”.
I was thinking about people who don’t have any income, or who have significant uncertainty/stability in their futures, or who have large financial burdens/commitments.
More broadly, if you want to read more of my thoughts on this topic, I’ve made a few comments over the years about living in high cost of living areas, about general feelings of financial insecurity/instability, and about not pledging to donate. Those might provide a bit more insight into my throught and perspectives.
If we’re talking about people who literally have no income… then it does seem odd to ask how much they are donating. Though I also think that if the question were asked, it would be an okay answer to say, “I’m not donating right now because I don’t have any income.” Do you disagree? I would also ask, are there very many such people applying to EA jobs? How do they feed, clothe, and shelter themselves?
As for HCOL… As I wrote in a cousin comment to this one, I was able to donate 10% after tax while working minimum wage in a an HCOL area and TBH I don’t have a ton of sympathy for those who say that they can’t afford to do so today. For example, if we look at the SF Bay Area (the most expensive metro area in the country), the total cost of living is only about 15% less than the US average. The California minimum wage is $16.50/hour, which is about $28,000 after tax, or about $24,000 adjusted for cost of living. That is still richer than 92% of the people in the world!
As for feelings of financial insecurity/instability… I think someone in the above situation is rich enough to be able to both save for the future and give to charity. Do you disagree?
Just to be clear, I am certainly not arguing that there are no people in the United States that aren’t rich enough to donate to charity. Those with expensive or debilitating medical issues, for example, might not be able to make enough money to donate. And those with recent criminal records, or crushing debt relative to income, also might not be able to — though this category seems like mostly a consequence of past decisions? And anyway, I would ask again, are there so many people like this applying to EA jobs?