Common Cents Blog: This Thanksgiving give a little to charity

It is Urban Legend that Liberals are more compassionate than Conservatives. The truth is quite the opposite - Conservative, even though they make less money than conservatives, give considerably more money to charity than Liberals. Sara Palin gave considerably more to charity than did Joe Biden, in fact she and her husband gave more to charity in 2007 than Biden did in the years COMBINED TOTALS of 1998 - 2007! The fact that conservative are more giving probably has much to do with the fact conservatives are much more likely to have families and go to church. 20/20 recently did a tv special on this:

We assume the rich give more than the middle class, the middle class more than the poor. I've heard liberals care more about the less fortunate, so we assume they give more than conservatives do. Are these assumptions truth, or myth? To test what types of people give more, "20/20" went to two very different parts of the country, with contrasting populations: Sioux Falls, S.D. and San Francisco, Calif. The Salvation Army set up buckets at the busiest locations in each city -- Macy's in San Francisco and Wal-Mart in Sioux Falls. Which bucket collected more money? Sioux Falls is rural and religious; half of the population goes to church every week. People in San Francisco make much more money, are predominantly liberal, and just 14 percent of people in San Francisco attend church every week. Liberals are said to care more about helping the poor; so did people in San Francisco give more? It turns out that this idea that liberals give more…is a myth. Of the top 25 states where people give an above average percent of their income, 24 were red states in the last presidential election. Arthur Brooks, the author of "Who Really Cares," says that "when you look at the data, it turns out the conservatives give about 30 percent more." He adds, "And incidentally, conservative-headed families make slightly less money." And he says the differences in giving goes beyond money, pointing out that conservatives are 18 percent more likely to donate blood. You can read it here.

During this Thanksgiving season COMMON CENTS asks that you consider an online donation to one of these great charities. You donation will make a difference!