I think every conservative already knew that conservatives were generally more charitable than their liberal brothers, but I have to admit I was a little surprised with how overwhelmingly more giving we are. It's not even close.
Over the weekend I saw this little number at Liberty Pundit, discussing the findings of Arthur C. Brooks, a professor at Syracuse University, who published “Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism.”
– Although liberal families’ incomes average 6 percent higher than those of conservative families, conservative-headed households give, on average, 30 percent more to charity than the average liberal-headed household ($1,600 per year vs. $1,227).
– Conservatives also donate more time and give more blood.
– Residents of the states that voted for John Kerry in 2004 gave smaller percentages of their incomes to charity than did residents of states that voted for George Bush.
– Bush carried 24 of the 25 states where charitable giving was above average.
– In the 10 reddest states, in which Bush got more than 60 percent majorities, the average percentage of personal income donated to charity was 3.5. Residents of the bluest states, which gave Bush less than 40 percent, donated just 1.9 percent.
– People who reject the idea that “government has a responsibility to reduce income inequality” give an average of four times more than people who accept that proposition.
Brooks demonstrates a correlation between charitable behavior and “the values that lie beneath” liberal and conservative labels. Two influences on charitable behavior are religion and attitudes about the proper role of government.
This, of course, stems from two divergent beliefs. Conservatives believe that it is the duty of the individual to provide for himself first, society second through charity, and government only as a last resort in cases of extreme emergency. Liberals believe it is the proper role of government to take care of the citizenry at large. In short, conservatives believe in working hard and being generous with their own money. Liberals believe that government should care for everyone, and (according to Air America, Keith Olbermann and Al Franken) it should do so with your money, not theirs. There is no need to be personally generous when you believe you are being generous by advocating policies that take from someone else to give to those in need. It's really a frightening ideology.
I would prefer to pay much less in taxes, in part so that I could give much more to organizations that I know will do better things with my money than the government ever could. The other part is that it's my money to begin with, and government has no right to steal from me, just to give it to somebody else.
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