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The Myth of the Generous Liberal…

Stossel over at Townhall: [1]

But the idea that liberals give more is a myth. Of the top 25 states where people give an above-average percentage of their income, all but one (Maryland) were red — conservative — states in the last presidential election.

“When you look at the data,” says Syracuse University professor Arthur Brooks, “it turns out the conservatives give about 30 percent more. And incidentally, conservative-headed families make slightly less money.”

Researching his book, “Who Really Cares” [2] , Brooks found that the conservative/liberal difference goes beyond money:

“The people who give one thing tend to be the people who give everything in America. You find that people who believe it’s the government’s job to make incomes more equal, are far less likely to give their money away.”

Conservatives are even 18 percent more likely to donate blood.

I am again reminded of a point I brought up over at Q&O a few days ago, in which I noted the increase in charity giving incidental to the Reagan Tax cuts.

But read that one line from Brooks again:

You find that people who believe it’s the government’s job to make incomes more equal, are far less likely to give their money away.

There’s a word for this… it’s something liberals often charge conservatives with…. it’s called ‘greed’. That puts the whole thing into a frame… and a rather uncomfortable one from the liberal’s perspective.  Such people have no understanding whatever of what constitues ‘charity’. So the next time you hear about how conservatives are ‘greedy’ because they don’t want to ‘invest’ in some government program or another…. show them this article of Stossel’s.