Givers


ABC follows up a controversial book
A couple of weeks ago, there was buzz all over the blogosphere because of the book Who Really Cares by Arthur Brooks.

Now I haven't read the book and I haven't checked the figures. John Stossel has.

To test them, ABC's "20/20" went to Sioux Falls, S.D., and San Francisco. We asked the Salvation Army to set up buckets at their busiest locations in both cities. Which bucket would get more money? I'll get to that in a minute.

San Francisco and Sioux Falls are different in some important ways. Sioux Falls is small and rural, and more than half the people go to church every week.

San Francisco is a much bigger and richer city, and relatively few people attend church. It is also known as a very liberal place, and since liberals are said to "care more" about the poor, you might assume people in San Francisco would give a lot.

But the idea that liberals give more is a myth. Of the top 25 states where people give an above-average percentage of their income, all but one (Maryland) were red -- conservative -- states in the last presidential election.

"When you look at the data," says Syracuse University professor Arthur Brooks, "it turns out the conservatives give about 30 percent more. And incidentally, conservative-headed families make slightly less money."

Is Brooks right? Did John Stossel and ABC confirm his findings? I don't know.

I admit that the notion of religious people contributing more to charity appeals to me on all sorts of levels, but I do not have evidence supporting that feeling.

There are some liberals and progressives who define charity by the politics of victimhood. Under that standard, intentions are worth more than actual results. Solutions don't matter as much as showing sympathy or bringing attention to the problem. Using those guidelines, Brooks is refuted before he even starts.

— NeoWayland

Posted: Thu - December 7, 2006 at 04:37 AM  Tag


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