# OK, I give up: What is with corporations asking us to give $1 at the register? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 2, 2009, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-give-up-what-is-with-corporations-asking-us-to-give-1-at-the-register/501697 "2009-07-02T14:36:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 1
**Author:** ![No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_Wikipedia_Cites)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2009, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-give-up-what-is-with-corporations-asking-us-to-give-1-at-the-register/501697/1 "2009-07-02T14:36:44Z")
Everytime, without fail, I am subjected to the cashier at the CVS, or Safeway, or other stores, asking me “Would you like to donate ONE DOLLAR [you cheapskate!] to [say] deaf & dumb orphans?” To make things worse, the little Debit Card machine you run your card through has a prompt on its screen that also solicits you to donate $1, and the “no” and “yes” on screen buttons switch positions randomly each new purchase, so you have to watch carefully. My objection to this is being solicited by a company I’m trying to patronize, which is patronizing me by asking not once, but twice, each time I try to buy something. It’s a guilt-wringer designed to make you feel cheap and heartless by refusing. The fact is, small purchases at CVS for $2 means that $1 donation is 50% of the total bill. \*\*In any case, my question is why are the corporations like Safeway, and others, doing this to their customers? When did this start? Is it ever going to stop? \*\* As an adult now, I remember when I didn’t get harassed by the clerk to donate piecemeal to a corporate-endorsed charity everytime I buy a loaf of wonderbread. I am fully capable, and I imagine others are, of making our own, tax-deductible donation to a charity or church of our choice, usually (as many do) once a year. --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-give-up-what-is-with-corporations-asking-us-to-give-1-at-the-register/501697)._