Living Thought #003

The Middleman

I’m just a person who lives.

I’m not an economist. I’m not a politician. I’m not a business expert.

I just live here.

And because I live here, I end up thinking about things.

My latest rambling:

I have noticed something strange.

When someone with very little money experiences a tragedy, another person with very little money often creates a fundraiser.

Then a lot of people with very little money send what they can.

Five dollars.

Twenty dollars.

Maybe fifty if they are able.

The money moves from one struggling person to another struggling person.

But before it arrives, it passes through a corporation.

The corporation collects its fee.

The shareholders benefit. They have a lot of money already.

The executives benefit. They have a lot of money already.

And the more tragedy that passes through the system, the more money the system earns.

I am not saying the service has no value.

The fundraiser probably would not exist without it.

The money might never reach the person who needs it.

But I still find it strange.

A community gathers together to help someone survive a difficult moment.

And somewhere in the middle sits a profitable business.

I do not know what the answer is.

I just think it is an odd thing to notice.

That's it.