Money is so wasted on the wealthy

So I just finished watching the most amazing film on "Independent Lens" called "Motherland Afghanistan" (click here to go to the website for the film). Afghanistan has one of the highest rate of maternal mortality during childbirth in the world and the second highest rate of infant mortality. In the film, the filmmaker's two doctor parents return to Afghanistan to help improve conditions in the hospitals, specifically for women's hospital (the husband is an OB/GYN and the wife was a GP). The couple visits two hospitals in the film. The first one is Rabia Balkhi, which is located in Kabul and receiving assistance from the the US department of Health and Human Services (in what was renamed the Laura Bush Maternity Ward). Before they left for Kabul, the doctor submitted a list of needs to care for the patients and help train the doctors (he never received any of the supplies he asked for). I could not believe the conditions of the hospital. The patients have to bring some of the needed supplies with them to the hospital (and there was one seen when the doctors had to sort through the suture material to find some that was not rotten and would break when they were stitching someone up). The doctor eventually left because he was convinced that he wasn't making a difference (plus not having supplies didn't help). He return two years later to another hospital run by the Shuhada Organization which was much cleaner and better run than the Kabul hospital. The Shudada Organization is run by Afghans specifically and is working to educate women and girls about their rights and how to protect themselves. So watching this film made me really think about what women face all over the world. I feel privileged to not only live in a country that recognizes women's rights but to be part of a family that really appreciates strength in women. And of course, the film made me want to donate money to help the work done by this organization. Which brings me to the title of this blog. With some exceptions ( like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation), most rich people do not donate enough money to charity (in my opinion). Why can't someone like Donald Trump or Paris Hilton donate half of their money to charity? I know that if I had the means I would donate a lot of money to charity (especially considering that one of my dreams is to create a foundation like the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and fund lots of programs on PBS). I guess I just don't understand owning lots of buildings and homes; you can't live in 3 houses at once.

"All I see is a crying drunk and a mean sissy."- Hank Hill