It seems to me like this proposal is trying to optimize for “public relations” in the sense of Anna Salamon’s old post, even though it uses the term “reputation”. In Anna’s words:
If I am safeguarding my “honor” (or my “reputation”, “brand”, or “good name”), there are some fixed standards that I try to be known as adhering to. For example, in Game of Thrones, the Lannisters are safeguarding their “honor” by adhering to the principle “A Lannister always pays his debts.” They take pains to adhere to a certain standard, and to be known to adhere to that standard. Many examples are more complicated than this; a gentleman of 1800 who took up a duel to defend his “honor” was usually not defending his known adherence to a single simple principle a la the Lannisters. But it was still about his visible adherence to a fixed (though not explicit) societal standard.
I guess I just don’t see what societal standard we are supposed to be conforming ourselves to with this 2%/8% split. I don’t think there is any generally recognized obligation to give 2% to local charities, and certainly not to “warm fuzzy” charities (merely the fact that you’re phrasing it that way indicates that you are not referring to a concept that has broad agreement). Your description of how you are modelling your friends’ reactions to your charitable giving sounds more like the “weird and loopy” process that Anna talks about.
It seems to me like this proposal is trying to optimize for “public relations” in the sense of Anna Salamon’s old post, even though it uses the term “reputation”. In Anna’s words:
I guess I just don’t see what societal standard we are supposed to be conforming ourselves to with this 2%/8% split. I don’t think there is any generally recognized obligation to give 2% to local charities, and certainly not to “warm fuzzy” charities (merely the fact that you’re phrasing it that way indicates that you are not referring to a concept that has broad agreement). Your description of how you are modelling your friends’ reactions to your charitable giving sounds more like the “weird and loopy” process that Anna talks about.