Wednesday, November 10, 2004

Proof of Compassionate Conservatism

You've probably already seen the Democrats email hoax that shows a ranking by IQ scores with, no shock here, the blue states having the higher rankings by far. That chart has totally been debunked by all the urban legend sites. This chart?, however, which is factual, shows which states are the most charitable. Guess which color states dominate the top of the chart?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

This research or "chart" is so skewed because it argues that just because a state is "red" doesn't mean that all of the people who contributed to charities in that state is a 'red' voter. How about non-voters who gave to charities? How about 'red' voters who doesn't even claim their contributions? This 'chart' doesn't show those factors.

These findings doesn't reflect specific or detailed information on what the political leanings of those contributing to charities. Looking further into the methodology of the Generosity Index, it didn't distinguished the differences at all. It just shows the total contributions for each states based on totals of the tax reportings. I, myself, contribute to charities but I never claim them back so I am not even counted on there*. Does that make me into a 'blue' since my state is 'blue'? I don't think so.

For example, there can be 'red' voters in a state and they win that state but that doesn't mean that all 'red' voters contributed more than 'blue' voters just because they won that state. It would also apply to the 'blue' states. 'Blue' doesn't mean that 'blue' voters contributed more than 'red' voters.

So, I wouldn't really base an educated conclusion from this 'chart'. It's very unscientific and unreliable although I do not find any fault with the Catalogue for Philanthropy since their survey is not biased. Ms. Malkin was simply trying to make the C of P's findings political. Assuming that a 'red' contributes more than a 'blue' or vice versa is not only irresponsible but also malicious. I disagree with her assumptions.

*I never claim back my contributions when I file my taxes because I don't believe that I should get my money back after giving it away. It just doesn't make sense to me. So, I feel better giving it away for good. Pardon the pun. :-)