I Nearly Soiled Myself!

When I read about Professor Arthur C. Brooks research on charitable giving that indicates that conservatives tend to give more to charities, I became so shocked that I nearly soiled myself!

Here are a few of his findings:

1. 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).

2. 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.

3. Conservatives also donate more time and give more blood.

4. 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.

Brooks argues that there are three cultural values that best predict charitable giving: religious participation, attitudes on the proper role of government, and family structure.

Ninety-one percent of people who identify themselves as religious are likely to give to charity, writes Brooks, as opposed to 66 percent of people who do not. The religious giving sector is just as likely to give to secular programs as it is to religious causes.

Those who think government should do more to redistribute income are less likely to give to charitable causes, and those who believe the government has less of a role to play in income redistribution tend to give more.

And interestingly people who marry and raise children are more likely to give philanthropically than those who do not. The more children there are in a family, the more likely that a family will donate to charity. I presume that the source of this factor is the correlation between larger, traditional families and religious observance.

Dr. Brooks's findings have troubling implications, namely that the decline in religion, traditional family structure and the growth of a socialist vision will be accompanied by a decline in charitable giving and volunteering.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/03/conservatives_more_liberal_giv.html