Conservatives More Liberal Givers
George Will discusses "Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism," a book by Arthur Brooks of Syracuse University. Some key findings:
-- 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.
-- 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.
I've heard liberals argue that if government wasn't a primary avenue for charity, then orphans and the sick and the homeless would all die because there would be no one forcing individuals to help them out. First of all, that's not true, because people are still donating on top of the third of their income that they are losing to the government (imagine how much more they would donate if they were able to keep more of their money). But even if the argument was legitimate, then the problem lies with tight-fisted liberals, and not conservatives, as we are constantly made to believe.
Paul Ibrahim
in Poverty, Conservatives, Liberals, Books
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