Why Understanding Scale is Important.

Stolen from Think Progress

At a press conference this afternoon, President George H. W. Bush singled out the Walton Family for their generosity to Katrina relief efforts:

I don’t think anyone would mind if I singled out the chairman and CEO of Wal-Mart, Lee Scott, who is right here. He told us that they gave the Bush-Clinton fund a total of $23 million…$15 million from the company and then $8 million more from the Walton family, the marvelous philanthropists that they are.

Let’s put that in perspective. The Walton family’s net worth is $90 billion. So $8 million dollars represents .009 percent of their total.

The average family’s net worth is $86,100. If an average family contributed at the same rate as the Waltons, they’d donate $7.74.

There are thousands of families all around country that are being far more generous to Katrina victims than the Waltons. Few of them will be personally thanked by a former President.

This is exactly why a child giving up a toy, a working man pulling out a $100.00 bill or a grandparent writing a check for $50.00 can move me, but the Waltons, and people of their type, and their huge 'gifts' I just try to ignore.

The size of the gift has nothing to do with the level of sacrifice, and as Think Progress made clear, the Waltons sure didn't sacrifice much, did they.

Now, this is giving.

THE HOMELESS men of St. John's Hospice don't have much. But they are gathering their pennies - literally - to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

"They've already filled up two jars with coins, dollar bills, whatever they have," said Matthew Gambino, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

and reality sitck has some information on how little some of the big names in faith appar to be giving.