It’s tax season, so my wife and I have recently had to compile how much we have given to charity in 2011. For those of you who do not live in the US, this is because money given to charity is nontaxable here in the US, which might go a long way toward explaining why Americans give more to charity than the citizens of any other country.
At a little over 0.7 percent of our total household taxable income given to charity, we have given a lot less than I expected. Sure, my wife dedicates some of her time every weekend to volunteering at our local animal shelter, but ideally, I would like to see our household’s charitable giving increased to at least 2.5 percent of our income next year.
Oddly enough, many people are reticent to giving any money to charity. Development blogger extraordinaire Alanna Shaikh (if you are interested in getting a job in development, you do subscribe to her International Development Career List, right?) explains why — and why you should give money to charity:
Krugman on Writing Well
Every once in a while I get correspondence from someone chiding me for the way I write — in particular the informality. I received one the other day complaining about sentences that begin with “but” or “and.” There is, however, a reason I write this way.
You see, the things I write about are very important; they affect lives and the destiny of nations. But despite that, economics can all too easily become dry and boring; it’s just the nature of the subject. And I have to find, every time I write, a way to get past that problem.
One thing that helps, I’ve found, is to give the writing a bit of a forward rush, with a kind of sprung or syncopated rhythm, which often involves sentences that are deliberately off center.
More broadly, the inherent stuffiness of the subject demands, almost as compensation, as conversational a tone as I can manage.
More here, with credit to Michael Roberts.
Here is more excellent advice on writing, albeit not from Paul Krugman: “25 Things Writers Should Stop Doing (Right F***ing Now),” and “25 Things Writers Should Know about Rejection.” The language is NSFW, but the content is excellent.