New Englanders Most Stingy, South Most Generous with Charity

[Bonnie]

New Englanders most tightfisted, charity index says
November 21, 2005

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) -- New Englanders remain among the most tightfisted in the country when it comes to charitable giving, while Bible Belt residents are among the most generous, an annual index shows.
For the fourth consecutive year, New Hampshire was the most miserly state, according to the Catalogue of Philanthropy's Generosity Index. Mississippi remained at the top for generosity.
The index, which takes into account both "having" and "giving," is based on average adjusted gross incomes and the value of itemized charitable donations reported to the Internal Revenue Service on 2003 tax returns, the latest available.
However, its methodology has been criticized and has prompted new studies of charitable giving.
"We believe that generosity is a function of how much one gives to the ability one has to give," said Martin Cohn, a spokesman for the Catalogue for Philanthropy, a Boston-based nonprofit that publishes a directory of nonprofit organizations.
But a study by the Boston Foundation concluded that the index presents an undeserved image of New England as a region made up of Yankee skinflints.
"If everyone in Massachusetts gave 100 times as much to charity as we do today and everything else remains the same, we wouldn't get above the bottom half of the chart," said David Trueblood, a spokesman for the foundation. "And no matter what Mississippi did, it couldn't fall below 22nd or 23rd."
The foundation proposed an alternate measure of generosity based on each state's share of overall charitable contributions and income, adjusted for differences in taxes and living costs. Using that methodology, Massachusetts' generosity ranking last year would be 11th, instead of 49th.
Another new study, conducted by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University on behalf of a group of New England sponsors, also boosts the case for residents of the six-state region.
That study, which supplements IRS data with a survey of representative households, found that people in New England give less, on average, to charity than people in other regions, but that the percentage of New Englanders who do contribute is higher than the national average. It also found that contributors in New England tend to favor secular, rather than religious, causes.
Mr. Cohn said he was disappointed that the Boston Foundation chose to attack the index without understanding that its purpose is to promote discussion about philanthropy and that it never sought to hang a label on any state.
Mr. Trueblood said he wanted to move the discussion away from rankings and toward ways to get people to be more generous.

http://washingtontimes.com/national/20051120-115511-4563r.htm

 

[CSM]

That's funny! I suppose looking at the income tax return is one way to gauge generosity, assuming everyone claims their generosity as a deduction (I don't but I suppose a lot of people do). I also happen to know that a lot of folks who don't file income tax (the elderly, for example) are very generous.

 

[Hobbit]

HA! Take that, you dang New Englanders with your noses up in the air, looking down at us southerners.

 

[CSM]

HA! Take that, you dang New Englanders with your noses up in the air, looking down at us southerners.

That's it...no money for you!

 

[KarlMarx]

Actually, think about it.... it figures, doesn't it?

If you believe that "the government" ought to be helping the poor and downtrodden, then you can justify not giving to charity because "I pay taxes"....

If on the other hand, you believe that charity is everyone's responsibility rather than the government's well.... you're more apt to give....

I believe that I read an article in National Review that claimed Europeans are also not very generous, either....

see the pattern?

One of the counter arguments that I have to liberals who complain that Bush's tax cut only helps the rich and hurts the poor is... "well, it's your money, you can write a check to your favorite charity".... to which I either get a dumbfounded silence (as if they don't understand the concept) or an icy stare (as in "how dare you suggest such a thing!")

Well ... I'm off.... another program needs debugging!

 

[Abbey Normal]

When it comes to gift-giving, my New England relatives are the stingiest.
To look at it in a kindly fashion, I supoose one could attribute it to old-fashioned Yankee thrift.

 

[archangel]

What about the midwest and west...we give too! Being from the West...Nevada... well I am guilty...I give much more than I receive...in my personal life as well as business life...do I feel guilty...hell no...I sleep rather well...money is nice..but it won't solve your lifes problems, except for toys...which I can take or leave! :halo:

 

[Bonnie]

When it comes to gift-giving, my New England relatives are the stingiest.
To look at it in a kindly fashion, I supoose one could attribute it to old-fashioned Yankee thrift.

You know there was a study done when Clinton first got elected regarding who were better tippers Republicans, or Democrats, and according to the findings it was Republicans who were more generous. That ties in nicely with this study afterall most New Englanders it can be argued are Democrat while Southerners are more Republican........Hmm

 

[archangel]

You know there was a study done when Clinton first got elected regarding who were better tippers Republicans, or Democrats, and according to the findings it was Republicans who were more generous. That ties in nicely with this study afterall most New Englanders it can be argued are Democrat while Southerners are more Republican........Hmm

you are from New England...Republican..and gives more than you receive...interesting...please explain!

 

[Bonnie]

you are from New England...Republican..and gives more than you receive...interesting...please explain!

Actually I'm not from New England but I suppose mixed in New England states and Mid Atlantic states are people like me who associate more with Republican thinking and are also hopefully charitable?? I think the study was more generalized

 

[archangel]

Actually I'm not from New England but I suppose mixed in New England states and Mid Atlantic states are people like me who associate more with Republican thinking and are also hopefully charitable?? I think the study was more generalized

I will accept the "wink" as your answer...touche' :kiss2:

 

[Hobbit]

You know there was a study done when Clinton first got elected regarding who were better tippers Republicans, or Democrats, and according to the findings it was Republicans who were more generous. That ties in nicely with this study afterall most New Englanders it can be argued are Democrat while Southerners are more Republican........Hmm

Yeah, I remember during the election when the Kerry Karnival trashed a hotel with his campaign staff. Then, he stiffed the staff of both the hotel and the hotel's resturant.

 

[Zhukov]

Unless I'm mistaken, you have to go to the 26th state (NY) to get to the first blue state.

State
Wealth rank. (wealthiest 1 - poorest 50)
Giving rank. (most 1 - least 50)
Comparison between wealth and giving ranks
Final Genorosity rank.

Mississippi 50 6 44 1
Arkansas 46 5 41 2
South Dakota 44 9 35 3
Oklahoma 42 8 34 4
Tennessee 35 3 32 5
Alabama 38 7 31 6
Louisiana 43 12 31 7
Utah 30 2 28 8
South Carolina 39 13 26 9
West Virginia 48 22 26 10
Idaho 41 20 21 11
Texas 22 4 18 12
Nebraska 34 17 17 13
North Dakota 45 29 16 14
Wyoming 17 1 16 15
North Carolina 28 16 12 16
Kansas 27 15 12 17
Florida 23 14 9 18
Georgia 18 11 7 19
Missouri 31 24 7 20
Kentucky 40 33 7 21
New Mexico 47 40 7 22
Montana 49 45 4 23
Indiana 29 31 -2 24
Alaska 25 28 -3 25
New York 5 10 -5 26
Iowa 36 42 -6 27
Nevada 13 21 -8 28
Ohio 32 44 -12 29
Maine 37 49 -12 30
California 6 19 -13 31
Maryland 4 18 -14 32
Washington 11 25 -14 33
Vermont 33 47 -14 34
Oregon 26 41 -15 35
Pennsylvania 19 34 -15 36
Virginia 7 23 -16 37
Arizona 21 37 -16 38
Delaware 14 30 -16 39
Illinois 9 26 -17 40
Michigan 16 35 -19 41
Hawaii 24 43 -19 42
Colorado 10 32 -22 43
Minnesota 12 36 -24 44
Connecticut 1 27 -26 45
Wisconsin 20 46 -26 46
Rhode Island 15 50 -35 47
New Jersey 2 38 -36 48
Massachusetts 3 39 -36 49
New Hampshire 8 48 -40 50

http://www.catalogueforphilanthropy.org/cfp/db/generosity.php?year=2005