|
|
Article: The challenge for America's rich. (how to be more charitable)(Brief Article)(Editorial)(Cover Story)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- May 30, 1998
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
AT THE turn of the century, with the economy booming and inequality on the rise, the Salvation Army threw a dinner party at Madison Square Garden. The stadium's lights beamed down on thousands of poor people tucking into free food. The rich hired boxes and galleries to savour their philanthropy. Everybody sang "Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow". It was hailed by the Salvation Army Commander as "the dawning of a new era, the bridging of a gulf between the rich and poor". Over the next quarter-century the masses at the trestle tables turned on the elite in the galleries. The icons of American capitalism-the Rockefellers, Morgans and Vanderbilts-were denounced as ...