The Wash Post profiled a hedge fund programmer who donates almost all of his salary to a foundation that works to save kids from malaria. Dylan Matthews clearly thinks that this is pretty noble. There’s a lot of interesting information in the article about the most effective ways to give to charity, but I’ll deal with that later. Let’s just talk about the dude for a moment.

David Brooks thinks that this hedge fund programmer is misguided. If the dude is really consumed by the need to help kids in Africa, then he should get on an airplane and do it.

After I graduated from college, I lived at home for a year to save up money before I moved out. I took the bus at the corner every morning to the city for my entry level publishing job, which paid $15,500 per year. Three stops down, a former high school classmate got on the bus with me. He worked at a hedge fund in the city and made six times my salary. He still lived at home, too. We weren’t really friends when we were in high school, but we became very close after a year’s worth of bus trips together. We did the NYT crossword puzzle together and chatted about life.

I gave him lots of shit about his job. I was in full commie mode back then and considered his job morally bankrupt. But the truth was, the guy was a much better person than I was. He volunteered at a soup kitchen every week and spent his weekends learning more about his real passion in life — jazz. After 20 years of frugal living, he quit Wall Street and opened up his own jazz recording label. He supports struggling artists and his label has won many awards. He’s actually very successful. I keep tabs on his many triumphs on Facebook.

For most people, a job is a means to an end. It’s the means for providing your family with a roof and a meal. Few people actually get to pursue a job that is both noble and fulfilling. If you have the unique skills to make a lot of money, why not use that money for a noble end?