The root of charity

Which is more generous: paying more taxes to subsidize social programs, or directly aiding those in need with not only your money, but your time?

It's always bugged me that certain political groups chide "conservative" resistance to increased government spending as being solely the product of a Scrooge-like heart. Turns out those small-government advocates may in fact be the most socially concerned segment of the population.

The book's basic findings are that conservatives who practice religion, live in traditional nuclear families and reject the notion that the government should engage in income redistribution are the most generous Americans, by any measure.

Conversely, secular liberals who believe fervently in government entitlement programs give far less to charity. They want everyone's tax dollars to support charitable causes and are reluctant to write checks to those causes, even when governments don't provide them with enough money. ...

"These are not the sort of conclusions I ever thought I would reach when I started looking at charitable giving in graduate school, 10 years ago," he writes in the introduction. "I have to admit I probably would have hated what I have to say in this book."

Still, he says it forcefully, pointing out that liberals give less than conservatives in every way imaginable, including volunteer hours and donated blood.

There are plenty of people who are generous with other people's resources. Many of the same people are amazingly frugal when it then comes to their own.

There's more to social contribution than our materialistic focus on dollars and cents. Otherwise all those massively funded Federal programs would do more good. What private charity does far better than the public is create relationships. The bureaucrat has no vested interest in the success or failure of a particular person -- they are mostly nameless, faceless statistics. But for the person who sponsors a child, becomes a Big Brother or Sister, or works directly with groups who may have fallen through the cracks, there is a stronger bond. These are PEOPLE -- each with their own unique stories of missed opportunities, poor choices, or just rotten luck.

It's no coincidence the study finds those "right wing religious types" are among the most giving. Some may charge that's due to trying to placate God or buy one's way into heaven, but most of those critics simply don't know what they're talking about. The true Christian is one who realizes God places value on every life--after all, He created it. The second thing each Christian realizes, is that literally, "there but for the grace of God go I." The third thing a Christian realizes is that his responsibility to his fellow man isn't something to be delegated to government.

So while others may bark about government programs "for the children," remember there's a difference between talking and walking.