Do the wealthy have an unspoken obligation to give back to the community through acts of charity?

I think they do.
And the german constitution agrees:
Article 14, section 2,“Property entails obligations. Its use shall also serve the public good.”

Sure, the concept itself has a name: noblesse oblige.

Society might expect them to “give back” which is a ludicrous concept imo but I don’t. If they have enough money to do whatever they please, good for them. It’s even better if they decide to share, but I won’t hold it against them if they don’t.

I don’t think they do.
As @Facade says, it’s great if the wealthy want to share, but no obligation.

No, it’s their money…they earned it, let them do what they want.
The rich (or ANYONE for that matter) shouldn’t be guilt-tripped or bullied into giving anything. Only give when you want to.

They probably do have an unspoken one.

There is no obligation, but in a perfect world, wouldn’t they just think it is the right thing to do and therefore do it. Bill Gates and his wife are good examples, they do a lot of good things with their money.

I don’t think there is currently any social expectation for the rich to give back to society. Some do, of course, but they seem to be the exception. Rather, it appears many rich people buy more and fancier stuff. However, if the new health care proposal goes through, it seems that the very rich will be taxed more to help cover the cost of health care for the poor. Makes sense to me. And it kind of enforces the notion of giving back to your community and society, if you have made it very big. I wonder, for example, how many of the Goldman brokers will be giving a significant portion of their giant bonuses back to society in some way or other…

Sure, I have that expectation. I think it’s despicable for people to waste money on completely frivolous purchases while other people die slow, painful deaths in need of food and basic health care.

That said, I don’t think this obligation needs to be codified into law any more than it already is. Taxes are sufficient. But I do maintain that they have a social and moral obligation to do good with what they have earned or been given.

Also, drawing the line between morally acceptable and morally unacceptable spending is not easy. I could forgo my morning coffee and provide a small amount of relief just as the extremely wealthy could forgo another luxury car and provide a large amount of relief. So I see my frivolous expenditures as slightly immoral, and their frivolous expenditures as vastly immoral.

Er.., I mean’t literally ” unspoken ” by the way…. :-I

I think everyone has an obligation to give to their community no matter what their income. It is called being responsible and is what makes a community collectively strong. (consider how weak our fluther community would be if members did not contribute).
Giving to the community is more than a monetary contribution.

The other night I went to a good friends birthday dinner, and her boyfriends best friend just so happens to play for the NBA. My friends and I joked about him paying for everything since he gets paid millions. (Of course quietly- would not of wanted him to hear). But I’ve come to conclusion that even though I disagree with the way athletes get paid..it is their money and their choice to spend it the way they want too.

Oh bother, those dang over-paid athletes.

Most people with ridiculous amounts of money have attained that money from the blood, sweat, and tears of the proletariat. So, yes, they have an obligation to give back. I agree with @nikipedia. It’s sick that some people have 10 cars while people die in the streets.

I also agree with @basp. If you have something to give, you should. What we need is community, not individualism.

They certainly don’t have to, nor are the obligated to, but it’s certainly nice when they do.
In the end, it’s their money, they usually had to bust their asses to get into the position that they got to, so they can do whatever they want with it.

The old money people I know definitely believe in noblesse oblige, but they tend to put it in practice in ways that suit them. A friend’s mother, who probably has an eight-figure net worth, is busily buying up distressed properties so that they don’t sit vacant. In some cases she’s bought properties about to be foreclosed on and worked out a rent-to-own deal with the family living there. She’s not losing money, by any means, and in the end she’ll probably make a tidy profit, but she’s doing a great deal to keep the city she loves stable and safe and she’s not cheating anyone.

Considering many rich people get rich by buying and selling the profits of others, yes.

They should feel an obligation. People say that they’ve earned their money, but it took all those other’s dollars to put them on top.

If the class system is a pyramid, those at the top have to realize that it’s not like the pyramid on the back of a dollar. They are connected to the rest of us.

Yes. That’s why we tax them more.

@Saturated_Brain Taxes aren’t charity

@boots True that, but the sad fact is that not many people would want to consciously give back to society, even if they have everything. So we just tax them more in order to take what they can afford, which is a lot more than what most of us down here can afford.

@cwilbur sounds like my kind of woman. And if she makes money on the deal, perhaps she will use that to help out another lot.

I think anybody in a privaliged lifestyle has a social obligation to help others less fortunate

Quite simply, yes.

I think everyone should have an unspoken obligation to give back to the community through acts of charity or service.

Yes, every society succeeds or fails on the amount of community spirit present.

i think that everyone does. but the wealthy? sure, they especially do. it’s not because they don’t deserve the money that they earned – i think there’s a sense of “you really owe the community, you ridiculously wealthy person!” because they have so much potential to give.

Yes. You may like “Atlas Shrugged”. I love it——as in, I love to read it and then yell at it.

@jenandcolin You yell at books?

Yes. I yell at books all the time. I also yell at movies.