Another study, which compared IRS data from 2012 with data from 2006, showed that the 17 most “generous” states — as measured by the percentage of their income they donated to charity —
voted for Mitt Romney. The seven states at the bottom of the list, meanwhile, voted for Barack Obama.
...
Democrats are really vocal when it comes to confiscating other people’s money for the poor. But ask them to give from their own pockets, and they are precisely what they falsely accuse Republicans of being.
In his book “
Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism,” Arthur C. Brooks presents what he describes as “a large amount of data all pointing in the same direction.” What is that? He says, “People who favor government income redistribution are significantly less likely to donate to charity than those who do not.” He perceptively notes that for a certain type of ideological American, “political opinions are a substitute for personal checks, but people who value economic freedom, and thus bridle against forced income distribution, are far more charitable” to those in need.
The Hoover Institution’s Peter Schweizer says the liberal’s approach to community charity could be summed up in this bumper sticker: “Think Globally, Sit on Your Butt Locally.” This is a chapter title in his powerful, omnibus case for the neighborly superiority of conservatives in his book, “
Makers and Takers: Why Conservatives Work Harder, Feel Happier, Have Closer Families, Take Fewer Drugs, Give More Generously, Value Honesty More, Are Less Materialistic and Envious, Whine Less … and Even Hug Their Children More than Liberals.”
Some liberals claim this greater charity among conservatives is simply because they seek the charitable deduction for tax avoidance, which ends up stiffing the poor. But conservative Republicans who take the standard deduction on April 15 still donate substantially greater sums of money compared to their liberal Democratic peers.
Insisting the government take money away from some people and give it to others does not make you generous.