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Politics : GOPwinger Lies/Distortions/Omissions/Perversions of Truth -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: American Spirit who wrote (41265)	4/10/2005 1:21:21 AM
From: goldworldnet	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 173976

Hey when was the last time you picked up a stranger's tab at a restaurant? It was yesterday for me. * * *

To: American Spirit who wrote (41265)	4/10/2005 3:43:32 AM
From: goldworldnet	Respond to of 173976

Average Giving to Non-Profit Organizations and Churches barna.org (mean giving; national random sample of 1002 adults) population segment - total giving - church giving - total church % all adults $1045 $806 77% Baby Busters (ages 18-34) $589 $353 60% Baby Boomers (ages 35-53) $1248 $984 79% Builders (ages 54-72) $1326 $1205 91% Seniors (ages 73+) $1389 $997 72% Males $1036 $770 74% Females $1055 $845 80% Income Under $30,000 $453 $338 75% Income $30,000-$59,999 $1076 $841 78% Income $60,000 or more $1687 $1343 80% Politically conservative $1533 $1365 89% Politically moderate $845 $582 69% Politically liberal $932 $618 66% Evangelicals $2476 $2346 95% Born Again $1651 $1439 87% Non-born again $644 $386 60% Protestant $1325 $1084 82% Catholic $846 $584 69% * * *

To: American Spirit who wrote (41265)	4/10/2005 5:24:52 AM
From: goldworldnet	Respond to of 173976

Southerners are more generous oakridger.com Story last updated at 1:01 p.m. on Tuesday, November 5, 2002 BOSTON (AP) -- Southerners still take the prize when it comes to charitable giving, though a few Yankee states are making progress toward shedding their stingy reputations. Relatively poor Bible Belt states, headed by Mississippi, retained their lead in the latest "Generosity Index," a survey measuring the disparity between what residents of each state earn and what they give. Mississippi has finished first in five of the six annual surveys. In the latest, the Magnolia State once again has the greatest disparity between its ranking among the states in wealth -- 49th -- and its ranking in donations: 6th. Following Mississippi are Arkansas, South Dakota, Tennessee and Louisiana, according to the Catalogue for Philanthropy, a Massachusetts group that created the study and encourages giving. The group has consistently given the highest rankings to Southern and Midwestern states, where tithing -- giving a tenth of your income to church -- is relatively common. Northeastern states have generally ranked lowest. "Mississippians recognize that caring for others is a way of caring for the community at large, and the depth of that caring is amazing," said Mississippi Gov. Ronnie Musgrove. "The Generosity Index is further evidence that our caring begins in the heart and moves to the wallet." The survey doesn't reflect the recent economic downturn because it relied on IRS tax returns from 2000, the most recent year available. New Hampshire, which is the sixth wealthiest state per capita but ranked only 45th in charitable contributions, came in dead last, one spot behind Rhode Island. New Jersey and Wisconsin were 48th and 47th, respectively. Still, there were signs that the prosperity of the 1990s made some New England residents more generous. Connecticut rose 10 spots from 44th to 34th. Massachusetts, which has finished last in some previous surveys, rose from 48th to 44th. Charitable giving in the state over the late 1990s rose considerably faster than income, and more than doubled to $3.97 billion. "The economy was good everywhere, but Massachusetts' growth in giving outstrips by far every other state," said George McCully, the group's coordinator trustee. The survey compares each state's average adjusted gross income with its average itemized charitable deduction. But because those numbers don't quite line up, the index compares the states' relative rankings in those categories. Only about one in four taxpayers itemize, although those taxpayers account for 80 percent of charitable giving. The authors acknowledge the survey, compiled by the National Center for Charitable Statistics, is imperfect. It doesn't account for volunteering and economists dislike it. But the group say it offers a good snapshot of regional variations and shames stingy states into action. * * *

To: American Spirit who wrote (41265)	4/10/2005 5:36:37 AM
From: goldworldnet	Respond to of 173976

Americans prefer faith-based care & giving nptimes.com By region The south seemed to put its money where its faith was, with 27 percent of those responding from the area indicating they are much more likely to donate to faith-based groups, which was slightly more than the west (25 percent). The south also posted the largest segment of respondents (21 percent) who were somewhat more likely to donate to faith-based groups, with the west and the north-central following again (both at 18 percent). Of respondents from the northeast, 40 percent said that it didn’t matter whether the organization was faith-based or not. That response far outpaced the south (23 percent) as well as the west (29 percent) and north-central (31 percent). For those who responded they wouldn’t donate to either, there was a surprisingly high number of southerners (13 percent), the same percentage as those from the north-central. Those findings outpaced the northeasterners (9 percent) and the westerners (6 percent). Looking at education levels to the donation question, there was wider variation than exhibited on the choice question. Those who said they were much more likely to donate to a faith-based organization, tended to be without a high school diploma (26 percent), or just a high school education (25 percent). Only 18 percent of those who graduated college indicated they were much more likely to donate to such an organization. Those who answered that they were equally likely for faith-based or non faith-based, tended to be college graduates (35 percent). Those without a high school diploma responded at 23 percent, with little variation between those who graduated high school (27 percent) and those who didn’t finish college (26 percent). Among those who indicated they wouldn’t donate to either, 13 percent were without a high school diploma. Those who graduated college were likely to at least donate; only 7 percent indicated they wouldn’t donate to either. Ramsey called for more research to be done in this area. “It’s an extremely important topic,” she said. “We have to find out what really works and what doesn’t work. … Why would people give money but not send mother? (The) study is good because it raises questions.” Red vs. blue The geographic aspects of the question, however, seemed to fit into preconceived notions about the nation. Those who considered the faith-based aspect having a great deal of influence were more likely to come from the south, while those who indicated it had no influence at all tended to come from the northeast. More specifically, 12 percent of respondents from the northeast indicated that an organization being faith-based made a great deal of influence. In the south the same response came from 19 percent of respondents. The west and the northcentral states of the country posted 14 percent. Among the northeast respondents, 33 percent indicated faith-based had no influence at all on their decision. The west had the lowest percentage (24) stating that it had no influence at all. In the south, 26 percent indicated it had no influence, and 30 percent of respondents in the northcentral region. Though the numbers might reflect the opinion that people in the south are more likely to be regular service-goers, Weiner offered another possibility. “The northeast is blessed to have many excellent faith-based and other nonprofit organizations involved in health and human services,” she said. “Positive experiences with (non faith-based organizations) may account for the seeming disparity in the numbers.” Ramsey said the geographic findings mirrored other studies on the issue, but she suggested the question has more facets than just geography. “If I had to put my mother in a badly run faith-based vs. an excellent non faith-based (the decision is simple).” She added, “We’ve all seen such uneven quality of care … it gets mucky trying to answer these questions.” Level of education didn’t seem to make much difference within answers. Among those who responded that faith-based made a great deal of influence on their decision, it was nearly as likely to be a person without a high school diploma (17 percent) as with a college degree (15 percent). Similarly, among those who said faith-based had no influence at all, there was little difference among those with a college degree (31 percent) and those without a high school diploma (29 percent). * * *

To: American Spirit who wrote (41265)	4/10/2005 6:24:36 AM
From: goldworldnet	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 173976

Generosity Index, 2004 by State infoplease.com Ranking # 1 Mississippi # 2 Arkansas # 3 Oklahoma # 4 Louisiana # 5 Alabama # 6 Tennessee # 7 South Dakota # 8 Utah # 9 South Carolina # 10 Idaho # 11 Wyoming # 12 Texas # 13 West Virginia # 14 Nebraska # 15 North Dakota # 16 North Carolina # 17 Kansas # 18 Florida # 19 Georgia # 20 Kentucky # 21 Montana # 22 Missouri # 23 New Mexico # 24 Alaska # 25 Indiana # 26 New York # 27 Iowa # 28 Ohio # 29 California # 30 Maryland # 31 Illinois # 32 Maine # 33 Delaware # 34 Washington # 35 Vermont # 36 Oregon # 37 Hawaii # 38 Virginia # 39 Arizona # 40 Nevada # 41 Pennsylvania # 42 Michigan # 43 Colorado # 44 Connecticut # 45 Minnesota # 46 Wisconsin # 47 New Jersey # 48 Rhode Island # 49 Massachusetts # 50 New Hampshire * * *