Club Troppo

I posted on this last year and it’s worth mentioning it yearly. A lot of stuff gets exchanged each year that’s pretty useless when we could give gifts to each other of donations to causes that could really do with the money. This would have had the assent of most economists before Pareto Optimality got taken up as the criterion of economic efficiency. (This holds that a more efficient allocation of resources requires you to make someone better off without making anyone else worse off).

Before then under the dominance of Marshall and Pigou a more commonsensical concept of efficiency in the distribution of utility held sway – viz

[T]he richer a man becomes, the less is the marginal utility of money to him; every increase in his resources increases the price which he is willing to pay for any given benefit. Alfred Marshall The Principles of Economics.

Actually the idea might be known as the Marshall/Pigou/Schwarzenegger doctrine. Here’s Arnie on the same topic

I now have $50 million, but I was just as happy when I had $48 million.

In any event, I digress. I wanted to draw Troppodillians attention to a range of charities that have packaged up their services in such a way that you can buy products from them that certify your donation to be given as a gift.

They include

CARE Australia

Fred Hollows

Oxfam Australia

TEAR Australia

The Wilderness Society
Freecall 1800 030 641 and ask for the ‘In celebration’ package

World Vision Australia

If others have other links or ideas I’d be interested to see them in comments.