"If you just give money to anyone who asks, won't some people just scam you?" Yes. I don't care. There are more people in need than there are scammers.

"How do you know they'll use it for what they say they will?" I don't. I don't care. I trust that people will use money in the way that suits their needs at the moment. I gave them money. It's theirs now. I don't get to follow it. It's gone.

'What if they use it for drugs?" Then they used it for drugs. Next question.

The simple fact is that if someone says "$50 will make a difference to me" then that's what I care about. Most people are reluctant to admit they need help much less ask for it. So I'm gonna put my presumptions on need being outweighed by fraud.

If it cost $100 in scammed money to give $900 to real people, that's worth not bothering to second guess people asking for money.

There have been countless times, even since I've been on Twitter that someone's contribution of $30 made all the difference between an impossible week and a rough one. And I only get contributions because people believe I EARNED it.

So it seemed only right to share that with people who have the same level of need just as I did but didn't have the capacity or resources that I do to "earn" it. Whether or not people believe they DESERVE money has no bearing on whether or not they NEED it.

And as I have been myself reminded by a number of you while writing this thread... Unless you're talking about some sort of organized crime ring, even "scammers" are just people in need. And how really, do you scam someone who's giving away money without…

Here's the thing. The time, resources, effort and MONEY that it would require to try and vet, means test or rank anyone's requests outweighs the cost of just giving money to whoever asks for it and trusting them to be autonomous humans.

If when giving money to others it is important to you that they use it as you expect, then giving the money wasn't about them. It was about your need for control, even when doing good.

This is the tweet I will reuse for PayPal asks from now on. Because I want you to read the thread above before you click the link below. If you appreciate what I do here and find my presence on Twitter valuable, please contribute below! https://t.co/hICERwfeRx

0 votes and 1 comment so far on Reddit

Sooo I just learned that some African and Hispanic cultures do this thing where they have 10 ppl in a group and they take turns giving eachother money. My coworker said it was her turn and she just got an extra 2,000.