The states that contributed most, from dark green to light. Credit: The Washington Post
The holidays are coming up in a few months – here’s a factoid you’ll want to have in your back pocket for the next debate around the family dinner table. The Washington Post reports further evidence that conservatives give more charitably than liberals:
Of the 20 states whose residents donated the biggest share of their income, all but one voted for Mitt Romney in 2012.
Rates of giving ranged from 1.74 percent in New Hampshire to 6.56 percent in Utah, as a share of their adjusted gross income, according to a comprehensive review of Internal Revenue Service data by the Chronicle of Philanthropy. (Utah is home to a sizable population of Mormons, who are expected to contribute 10 percent of their income to the church.) Among the top 20, all but 18th-ranked Florida voted for Romney during the last presidential election. Wyoming ranked 20th with a rate of giving of 3.09 percent.
The five New England states plus New Jersey, all of which voted for Obama, were the six stingiest.
That conservatives are more giving than liberals is a fact all conservatives should know and point out as often as possible. Especially against varied crackpot liberal arguments, from “Conservatives hate the poor!” to “Women and children will die if XYZ project is not taxpayer funded!!!”
Conservatives rightly believe that we know best where our money should go, not the government, and that people helping people out of the goodness of their hearts is more efficient, effective, and rewarding than a faceless bureaucracy stealing from Peter to give to Paul. Liberals may have their hearts in the right place, but conservatives put their money where their mouths are. Results trump intentions, every time.
