Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Charity Taxation Connections

I’ve often contemplated the implications of freely giving to charity versus taxation, wondering if those individuals who beat the drum most loudly for increases in taxation (state controlled wealth redistribution which penalizes non-participation) to fund programs for the desitute would actually open their wallets to fund private philanthropic programs for the destitute (wealth redistribution without state coercion).

Well, a new book, Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism, written by Arthur C. Brooks, looks at just this thought.

Mr. Brooks’ book concludes that religious conservatives tend to be the individuals who dig deepest into their own pockets for charitable contributions, and that those who bang the drum most loudly for state wealth redistribution, appear to clutch their purse strings tighter than Scrooge prior to his visit by the ghosts of Christmases past, present and future.

Arts & Letters Daily provides a link to a review of Brooks’ forthcoming book published by The Chronicle of Philanthropy. The review is titled Charity’s Political Divide.

Posted by John Venlet on 11/29 at 05:19 AM
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