The Life You Can Save Jefry Ang, Garret Dettner, Trae Givens, Connor McGuire, Kristopher Overbo, Thomas Slayday

Overview of Singer’s Argument Each of us, individually are responsible for taking definite action to prevent suffering in the world, irrespective of what others are doing. ●Detailed account of the ethical argument ●The psychology that undermines the ethical imperatives ●Practical considerations of the effectiveness of giving ●A specific prescription for effecting change

1. Saving a Child Practical ethics ~ situation about a drowning child / relation to poverty. Roughly 30,000 kids die each day due to situations like this. Comparing to your situation ~ donate? What is true poverty? No food, no shelter, no safe water = extreme poverty. 25 yrs reduction of 18% of poverty towards southeast Asia, still have long way to go.

2. Is It Wrong Not to Help Situation about new car and hiker - intuitive belief help others in need. / Golden rule Why not donate to agencies? = helping children/saves lives. Easy to donate money, but donating time is more meaningful. Relate to personal experience. $306 billion donated 2.2% including 30% of volunteer work = 50 hrs. yr. However >1% donated to developed countries. Seven cents of every dollar donated. We can do better!

3. Common Objections to Giving 1.I worked hard for my money, I should be able to spend as I please. 2.We are responsible for evils we inflict on others, but we owe nothing to those we have done no wrong. 3.America is a generous nation, we already give more than our share of foreign aid through our taxes 4.Giving money for food breeds dependency 5.I have my own family and expenses I need to provide for 6.There is no black and white universal code for everyone. It is better to accept that everyone has a different view on the issue, and all people are entitled to their own beliefs

4. Why Don’t We Give More? The “Identifiable Victim Effect” -we will spend far more to rescue an identifiable victim than we will to save a “statistical life.” Parochialism -a limited or narrow outlook, especially focused on a local area. The Diffusion of Responsibility -we are much less likely to help someone if the responsibility is solely on us

5. Creating a Culture of Giving ●50% League: Half of wealth or half of 3 Years income ●More likely to donate if we believe others are as well ●Motives don’t matter as much as the donation does, donations should be public to encourage others ●Putting a face on the needy allows for satisfaction because donations are working and they keep money flowing because they rely on you ●The right kind of nudge, opting in versus opting out ●Minimum contributions and matching ●Challenging self-interest

6. How Much Does it Cost? ●Difficult to see the benefits from donations ●Finding charities that really make a difference ●Administrative expenses can be up to 80% of revenue ●Charities that report low administrative expenses may be removing expert knowledge, and fund projects that fail ●No evaluations of effectiveness ●What it really costs to save a life, potentially $200-$3500 ●Overcoming poverty: path to independence ●Other good things done cheaply, arsenic filters, stoves, toilets and sewer systems

7. Improving Aid Spending too much time and money to eliminate trade barriers, rather than donating to agencies that give aid to the poor Saving lives, reducing misery, and meeting people’s basic needs – Bill Gates Millenium Villages Project Growing world population

8.Your Child and the Children of Others Taking your child to inexpensive school and donate substantial sums toward saving the lives of strangers Harder to love the children of strangers than your own

9. Is Doing Our Fair Share Enough? A Different Variation of the Pond Scenario

10. How Much Should We Give? ●People who have the money should give 5% of their income. ●The rich should give even more. ●The more money you make the more money you should give. ●7 steps to ending world poverty.

Our assessment of need remains skewed... ●Lots of attention for Haiti after the earthquake (2010) and a well-covered outpouring of support for the victims. ●meanwhile, improvements in global child welfare have resulted in 3,000 more lives saved per day! Bottom line: Do not rely on the media or any other external source to point out need or highlight success. Look to your own consumption compared to the needs of the worst off.

el fin