I read the following passage in Paul Johnson’s column in Forbes magazine.
Create happiness and satisfaction by creating jobs. And not just paid occupations – all governments do that, often by the million – but geniune jobs that justify themselves, have a real purpsose and longevity. The great 12-century Jewish sage Maimonides wrote that charity is a blessing, and we must all exercise it if we can. But the finest form of charity is to enable a poor man to support himself with honor and usefulness.
A businessman who can create useful, well-paid and secure jobs is doubly blessed, by the individual he makes self-supporting and by society he renders more secure. He helps himself, too, for as Maimonides says, there is joy in lifting people out of want, not by alms but on a permanent basis.
This is from Johnson’s column titled, “Pursuing Success is Not Enough,” which was published in the Forbes 2008 Investment Guide.
I remember two charities that helped me as a child. The first was the reduced price school lunch program. The second was Reading is Fundamental (R.I.F.). For lunch I usually chose to brown bag PBJ sammies rather than pay the special price. However, I so looked forward to the days when we got to choose a book to take home from the R.I.F. table. Sort of how Stanley on The Office looks forward to pretzel day.
This passage from Mr. Johnson struck a chord with me.
