The Life You Can Save - Part 2

So it's been a really busy month and I finally got around to finishing The Life You Can Save just a couple of nights ago. As I said in my last post, this is definitely a challenging book that will make you think about how far you will go - how far you should go - to help someone living in poverty. In the end, author Peter Singer suggests a simple and easily achievable standard of giving that would raise above and beyond what experts say is required to end extreme poverty.

In a nutshell, Singer suggests that those living in developed countries who earn up to $100,000 should give 1% of their income. Those who earn greater than $100,000 should give 5% of their income. Not only is this doable, but it would hardly be noticeable in our day-to-day standard of living. If everyone did this, we would be able to tackle global poverty in a serious way. But therein lies the catch...everyone has to participate. Everyone has to find the will to give. Everyone has to be moved to the point where they will give up their hard-earned money, money that they "deserve", in order to help someone else who is struggling for their next meal. Do we really have a responsibility to help someone in need...someone we've never met in a country we've never visited or maybe even heard of? Watch this video, visit the website, then decide for yourself.