Sunday, December 21, 2008

Bleeding heart tightwads

Bleeding heart tightwads is the title of Nick Kristof's column today in the Times, which reports the fact that conservative people donate to charity at rates 30-50% higher than their more liberal brethren. This fact has been verified in several studies, both at the individual and state level. Red states are much more generous than blue states. Conservatives are also much more likely to volunteer their time than liberals. This phenomena also exists at a national level with U.S. citizens being more generous than more liberal-leading European nations by even bigger margins.

I have no idea what this means, but I find it really interesting.

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

What did Ebenezer Scrooge say? "There are debtor prisons, aren't there sir?" Thus people to the left of center see the state as the grantee of largess. Or, as the right negatively so often points out, government is the answer.

What the opinion did not investigate was whether liberals spend more time personally in pursuit of community activism. Money might be good for rich or poor, but time and energy invested in direction is part of the solution as well.

Anonymous said...

I think much of this has to do with church giving. Another amazing statistic is that poor people, by far, give the most to charity as a % of income than any other group.

d'blank said...

Read the article boys -- conservatives also volunteer more time, and while they give more to churches, liberals give more to arts and cultural orgs, roughly negating one-another. many churches feed the poor; hardly any museums do the same.

Anonymous said...

Gentleman, After the messiah takes office, we won't need to rely on charities as much. The Goverment will have programs to feed the hunger of the entitlement starved.Those who are able to give of thier time and talents will be able to get paid instead of vounteering,Churches offer the opinions of man not God.The charity of choice for many of us for the next four years will be the US goverment. unlike the united way we cannot earmark where we want our dollars to go..

d'blank said...

WO -- aren't you confusing BO's agenda with Uncle Teddy's vision of government? let's give BO a chance. he hasn't done anything to suggest he wants to be our daddy yet.

Anonymous said...

You have to have it,to give it.

Anonymous said...

Ok, Its like a Dr who predicts the worst outcome and all of a sudden you are cured.He is right either way.Unless, people somehow become very very healthy whether insured or not, I will have work for my hands to do.Besides,After the crying jag on inaguration, then we will have to endure Uncle Teddy'd funeral, of course the eulogy he gave for RFK on the clips and then the passing of the torch to Caroline, I just thinking of a title for Michael Moores next adventure.. mb

Anonymous said...

Liberals prefer spending other's monies on such things as charities and social programs... This is not news.

Their common response when asked for a charitable contribution? "Oh, I gave to the IRS in April."

I have always wondered how my leftist friends could be so bleeding heart, with "the good of mankind" in mind, with such talk about the homeless and those who have not, yet still have such nice posessions on the incomes they earn. Now I understand.

Anonymous said...

I did read the opinion. I'm just dysfunctional.

A person who is wealthy might be more generous in donating time and service than money. However, there is a certain something about the coin of the realm.

If liberals are so cheap, how come they vote with their pocketbook for government spending which raises their taxes?

d'blank said...

Jim Brown says, "a liberal is someone who will cut off your leg and buy you a crutch."

Anonymous said...

Hankster, the answer is:
Libs are cheap... and stupid.

d'blank said...

...although Hankster is only 1 of those three.

Anonymous said...

Let's not argue -- but just open up our wallets and give a little more this year.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HANNUKAH and
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!!

d'blank said...

I agree AY. I wish I hadn't posted this.

Anonymous said...

No, it's a great forum -- and it gets us all thinking and moving in the right direction.

d'blank said...

thanks - but this particular post didn't really set the Christmas dinner table very well.

Anonymous said...

FIYF, you have swallowed the hook, paid for by big conservative money. The problem is neither liberal or conservative. The problem is self-serving yahoos. That includes us. We are a flawed species. If you think you float above the miasma, think again. With the right bait, we all swallow the hook, the line and the sinker.

Our only salvation is education and self-awareness. As this time of the year befits, let me speak for Christ, as he was a member of my tribe. Did you ever see any evidence he converted from his people? Jews don't do that. And, might I add, I could be even smarter than "he who has risen." I haven't been crucified - yet. What do you suppose JC would be doing had he lived now? A megachurch? Not a chance for a Jewboy. More like managing a hedge fund. Think Bernie L Madoff. As if Mozart would be a starving artist in these times of IT. No, he would be in finance, pushing the edge.

Remember what George C Scott said in Patton. A hero doesn't die for his country. He kills some other poor bastard, who is willing to die for his country. Darwin puts it the same way. You don't move your genetic material along by dying. You do it by living. Observe and play your own game.

d'blank said...

I don't know what Jesus would be doing today if he were among us, but he did drive the money changers from the temple.

Anonymous said...

Hankster, according to Arthur Brooks, conservatives donate more of their time and money to charities. They also donate blood to the Red Cross at a much higher rate. I suspect they pay more in taxes. What does this mean? It means that liberals ARE smarter than conservatives!

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