Charity

[brien]

This story has the media buzzing so I thought I would see how it would be treated here.

Philanthropy Expert Says Conservatives Are More Generous -- Beliefnet.com

Philanthropy Expert: Conservatives Are More Generous By Frank Brieaddy Religion News Service SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Syracuse University professor Arthur C. Brooks is about to become the darling of the religious right in America -- and it's making him nervous. The child of academics, raised in a liberal household and educated in the liberal arts, Brooks has written a book that concludes religious conservatives donate far more money than secular liberals to all sorts of charitable activities, irrespective of income. In the book, he cites extensive data analysis to demonstrate that values advocated by conservatives -- from church attendance and two-parent families to the Protestant work ethic and a distaste for government-funded social services -- make conservatives more generous than liberals. The book, titled "Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism" (Basic Books, $26), is due for release Nov. 24. When it comes to helping the needy, Brooks writes: "For too long, liberals have been claiming they are the most virtuous members of American society. Although they usually give less to charity, they have nevertheless lambasted conservatives for their callousness in the face of social injustice." For the record, Brooks, 42, has been registered in the past as a Democrat, then a Republican, but now lists himself as independent, explaining, "I have no comfortable political home."

Do you think this book's findings have validity, or if not, then why?

Btw, I donate a fair amount of money on a yearly basis to my favorite charities, of which toys for poor kids at Christmas is a favorite, but these people make me feel like scrooge. How say you? Do you give money to charity? Or if you're a bit light yourself, do you donate time to charitable causes?

[Chancellor]

Quote by: brien This story has the media buzzing so I thought I would see how it would be treated here. Philanthropy Expert Says Conservatives Are More Generous -- Beliefnet.com Do you think this book's findings have validity, or if not, then why?

They were reporting essentially the same thing on either 60 Minutes or 20/20. Not only is it true that conservatives tend to give more, it's also true that poor and middle income people give a larger percentage of their income to charity than the rich folks.

[brien]

Quote by: Chancellor They were reporting essentially the same thing on either 60 Minutes or 20/20. Not only is it true that conservatives tend to give more, it's also true that poor and middle income people give a larger percentage of their income to charity than the rich folks.

I saw John Stossel's report last night and the people in SF gave 50% of what the people in South Dakota did to the Salvation Army bell ringer. And the people in SF have an income twice what the people in SD have. Stossel said Rosey O'Donnel actually admitted she expects government to pick up the tab to replace her charitable donations. Typical socialist she is, in expecting the government to do everything from cradle to grave.:rolleyes:

[Chancellor]

Quote by: brien I saw John Stossel's report last night and the people in SF gave 50% of what the people in South Dakota did to the Salvation Army bell ringer. And the people in SF have an income twice what the people in SD have. Stossel said Rosey O'Donnel actually admitted she expects government to pick up the tab to replace her charitable donations. Typical socialist she is, in expecting the government to do everything from cradle to grave.:rolleyes:

That was one of the points that was being made: liberals tend to expect government to pick up the tab for everything and, so, they're less inclined to give up their own money to support charitable organizations.

[Cephus]

Quote by: brien I saw John Stossel's report last night and the people in SF gave 50% of what the people in South Dakota did to the Salvation Army bell ringer.

I wouldn't give a penny to the Salvation Army, they're a hate-based organization. You know they refuse to feed the poor unless they listen to a sermon first, right? And they won't give you a bed for the night unless you convert to Christianity.

And these hate-mongers want our money? Screw the Salvation Army.

That said however, I do give a lot to secular charities who help everyone, regardless of what religious fantasies they might have.

[Milton Bradley]

It would not surprise me to find that people with more money tend to give more money away. ( It might behoov one to investigate where that money goes. )


Persoanlly, I have never been financially secure enough to even consider giving money to charity. The shit is just to hard to come by for me.

[Zhavric]

Conservatives...

"Giving money to charity is good because there are a lot of needy people. Giving tax dollars to welfare is bad because people are lazy and should get a job."

... gotta love 'em.

EDIT: While we're at it, let's not forget: "Telling people what to do with their money is wrong and should be avoided. Telling people EXACTLY how to live their lives even behind closed doors is perfectly acceptable."

[Autolykos]

On the other hand, do charities always and necessarily tell people how to live their lives, even behind closed doors?

- Rob

[brien]

Quote by: Cephus I wouldn't give a penny to the Salvation Army, they're a hate-based organization. You know they refuse to feed the poor unless they listen to a sermon first, right? And they won't give you a bed for the night unless you convert to Christianity. And these hate-mongers want our money? Screw the Salvation Army. That said however, I do give a lot to secular charities who help everyone, regardless of what religious fantasies they might have.

Moral judgements aside, I was only looking at the percentages of the frequency of the donation.

[brien]

Quote by: Zhavric Conservatives... "Giving money to charity is good because there are a lot of needy people. Giving tax dollars to welfare is bad because people are lazy and should get a job." ... gotta love 'em. EDIT: While we're at it, let's not forget: "Telling people what to do with their money is wrong and should be avoided. Telling people EXACTLY how to live their lives even behind closed doors is perfectly acceptable."

You have swerved into a good question here. Is it better to administer charity through private sources or does one trust the government to manage the flow of tax dollars to the indigent? Also, is it better to force taxpayers to support the indigent, or are the results better when private charities manage the money to support the indigent? Government forces people to give and government forces people to behave in a prescribed manner when accepting charitable dollars. This not always the case with regard to private charity.

EDIT: While we're at it, let's not forget: "Telling people what to do with their money is wrong and should be avoided. Telling people EXACTLY how to live their lives even behind closed doors is perfectly acceptable."

[/quote]

And how is this different from the government recently enacting laws that tell people what they can and can't do behind closed doors? (As in smoking) The government forces people to behave in a desried way and metes out criminal consequences when they don't obey their laws, however, if one doesn't agree with a charity, such as the Salvation Army as Cephus points out, they don't have to either give or receive the benefits which are offered to them. There is a choice here. There is no choice with an intractable government order.

[Chancellor]

Quote by: Milton Bradley It would not surprise me to find that people with more money tend to give more money away. ( It might behoov one to investigate where that money goes. )

Only in actual dollar amount, not as a percentage of income. What was shown was that the poor and middle classes tend to give larger percentages of their income to charity than the wealthy.

Persoanlly, I have never been financially secure enough to even consider giving money to charity. The shit is just to hard to come by for me.

It's very likely that some of the people who give to charity are in the same state of financial insecurity that you're in.

[Milton Bradley]

Quote by: Chancellor It's very likely that some of the people who give to charity are in the same state of financial insecurity that you're in.

LOL


Um, I don't think so.


Nice of you to try to play the guilt card though.

[Osborn F Enready]

I am poorer than I would bet the majority of the poorer people on this board.

I give to local charities, when I can.

I do not give to international charities, PERIOD.

Once my country is fixed, and we stop flushing aid money out of it there is no end to it, maybe I will look past the border.

[kubedawg]

Who cares if a liberal or conservative gives charity? This battle between 2 different types of people is just nonsense. You give to charity because you CARE, not because you can call yourself a proud conservative or liberal... It's obvious most of these people miss the point about helping others.

[brien]

Quote by: kubedawg Who cares if a liberal or conservative gives charity? This battle between 2 different types of people is just nonsense. You give to charity because you CARE, not because you can call yourself a proud conservative or liberal... It's obvious most of these people miss the point about helping others.

Kube; I think the author of the book/study was originally seeking to embarrass the conservatives but when he compiled his stats they proved the exact opposite. Your point is not lost on me, however I now see this now as a question of who expects the government to support the indigent and who expects his fellow citizen to help the poor in other ways. Translation: big mouth nanny stater assholes like Rosy O' Donnell expect the government to save the people from poverty, pestulence, etc, by confisgating more money from taxpayers, and other people, like Kurt Russell, think like I do and advocate private charities to support our fellow citizens who at sometime in their lives become indigent. Clearly, many intelligent people think that compassion begins with donations to private charity.

[Chancellor]

Quote by: Milton Bradley LOL Um, I don't think so. Nice of you to try to play the guilt card though.

Guilt has nothing to do with it since giving to charity is a personal choice. The truth of the matter is, though, that there are many who are, like you, in a state of financial insecurity who do give to charity.

[brien]

Quote by: Chancellor Guilt has nothing to do with it since giving to charity is a personal choice. The truth of the matter is, though, that there are many who are, like you, in a state of financial insecurity who do give to charity.

Perhaps the closer one is to the state of being that the charity aids, then the more they feel an identification with those whom the charity is intended to help. Thus, the reason why people who are closer to poverty aid their fellow citizens whom are in need financially.

[Lee]

One might say that there is a certain hypocrisy involved in attempting to prove that one political group is proven to be more charitable than another as charity involves more than only giving money.

American driving habits are not charitable at all, yet when a population gets buried by a snowstorm, or hurricane, or tsunami, people seem to spontaneously be able to sympathize and act charitably towards the victims.

Since it's difficult to measure many types of charitable action, there is probably not much value in making claims that any particular segment of the political spectrum is "holier than thou."

[brien]

I don't think the author of the study at Syracuse University was trying to be "holier than thou." I think he wwas looking to disparage a certain segment of society and to his admitted astonishment, he found that the segment of society that came up short was the one he expected to be flush with charity. This is what I found interesting.

I concur with your point about non monetary charity, yet I suspect those who give more money probably also donate more time as well.

[Sappho]

Quote by: Chancellor Guilt has nothing to do with it since giving to charity is a personal choice. The truth of the matter is, though, that there are many who are, like you, in a state of financial insecurity who do give to charity.

What about the giving of time? Spending a couple of hours at a soup kitchen to feed the hungry is charity also. Spending some time at the local Nursing Home giving company to the eldery is charity too.

Are the financially insecure time poor also, so much so that an hour or two of their time is impossible?