Singer’s suggestion certainly had a purely philanthropic underlying explanation, but living at the level of marginal utility may harm our economy. I think that it is true not because citizens’ life satisfaction may drop due to fewer gadgets purchased, but because it may damage various spheres of the nation’s life.
In fact, people’s marginal utility may be elastic because individuals can adapt their happiness to their income level. Donating substantial sums will not allow for maintaining healthcare, education, and infrastructure satisfactorily since these areas require constant and significant investments. The lack of funds to support these institutions may require reducing the number of workers in schools and hospitals, affecting employment.
Private companies will not be able to renew their equipment, leading to lower quality of products and services. I believe that the whole idea of creating a prosperous economy is to ensure that citizens of our country from all classes have social protection. The purpose of charity, in my opinion, is to provide enough help and not to make emerging countries utterly dependent on external finances.