Hi Banjo,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Feeney

There is one foundation which is not listed on your link, as this guy works anonymously. His name is Chuck Feeney who is the founder of The Atlantic Philanthropies. AP has made grants totaling more than $5 billion since 1982

Known for his frugality, Feeney flies coach class, owns neither a home nor a car, and wears a $15 watch. And he does not believe in leaving the legacy of plaques of himself.

Thanks for that, Constance. What an inspirational fellow!
I have little time for most philanthropists as, apart from their rarity relative to the large number of the wealthy, the phenomenon tends to legitimise the holding of enormous wealth and influence in single, private or corporate hands, while absolving our democratic order of responsibility, both for the gross disparity instanced and for the needy.

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Dear Constance,

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"Known for his frugality, Feeney flies coach class, owns neither a home nor a car, and wears a $15 watch. And he does not believe in leaving the legacy of plaques of himself."

That sounds exactly like me, Constance, but my dear wife tells me I am far too generous and that I never even look at the price of tomatoes before lining up to the cash register with a bag full. She usually pulls out a few before it's my turn.

She never misses an opportunity to remind me how badly I shocked the farmer's wife, ten years ago, when I told her to keep the change (four cents) for a billycan of fresh cow's milk. It's true that I was totally unconscious at the time of how disrespectful that was, considering the fierce battles and prolonged strikes and hardships that entailed for the farmers and their families, just to obtain an extra three cents a litre for their milk.

Though Feeney and I apparently share the same lifestyles, it's amusing to see that he is known for his frugality and me for my generosity (or should I say stupidity?).

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Dear Squeers,

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I guess you can't blame philanthropists for all those egoists (who, by the way, are not just to be found among the wealthy).

I sometimes wonder what I should do if I won the lottery. I think it would be quite a quandary. Should I keep it, invest it, spend it or give it away?

Should I just donate it to the State as unearned income tax? Would that be the best move from an ethical point of view?

Perhaps it would, but I have a little suspicion nagging in my brain that makes me hesitate.

I can't help feeling that if I did that, part of the money would simply go to feeding the voracious administrative "beast" of all those highly educated, elite public servants from the top universities and "grandes écoles" (here in France) with their enviable salaries and multiple advantages in kind, who tend to look down on me and treat me as some obnoxious little twit who just walked through the door.

In addition, I am not entirely convinced that all the funds I might happen to donate would be distributed in what I (or anybody else, for that matter) should consider to be the most equitable fashion.

This process of gradual loss and depletion of initial capital as it passes through the mincing machine of multiple hands is well known to economists. They call it "friction". The more complex the circuit, the greater the "friction".

You are never better served than by yourself, so they say. And, if you do it yourself, of course, you avoid "friction".

Not to worry, though. The problem will never arise anyway. I never buy lottery tickets.

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Banjo Paterson,

It doesn't take too much to be generous no matter where you are positioned in life's game of roulette.

In the impersonal atmosphere of the big supermarkets, amidst the hustle and bustle, it's less likely you'll experience a true generosity of spirit, but not impossible. All it takes is for you to let the person with a few items ahead of you in the line to have them effusively turn to you with thanks and appreciation - it's always a buzz to do that, as it is to receive it.

We had loads of tomatoes, cucumbers, etc from our garden this year, so have enjoyed the opportunity to give the excess away to friends and family. My mum lives in a retirement home, and last week I led her out to our wheelbarrow which was half-full will gorgeous ripe tomatoes. I handed her a few bags and told her to fill them up for herself and her cronies at the village......'twas great to see the tommies going to a good home.

I think the sort sharing one experiences outside the usual highly organised and regulated world of commerce is where you find people really interacting on a human scale. My mum makes us date slices and goes home with cucumber relish and bags of tomatoes - my friend brings me home grown onions and goes home with a rock melon.

Good feelings all round : )

Meant to say that mum's place is like a little village where they all have their own units. They are all independent, and cook and share amongst themselves. Hardly a day goes by when they're not giving each other something and receiving in return.

Needless to say, they're a pretty happy bunch where she lives.