Posted on 11/10/2004 3:31:03 PM PST by pookie18
HARTFORD, Conn. - New England states making more, giving less
Mississippi retains its title as the most giving state for the eighth consecutive year, according to the 2004 Generosity Index created by Catalogue for Philanthropy.
Following right behind are Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Alabama and Tennessee.
New England residents continue to earn more and give back less, according to the annual index of charitable giving.
Connecticut ranks first when it comes to making money, but joins New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island in falling to the very bottom of the 2004 Index.
The survey is based on the average adjusted income of residents and the value of itemized charitable donations reported on 2002 federal tax returns, the latest year available.
New England's stinginess is nothing new. New Hampshire has been labeled the least generous state for six out of the last eight years, with only Massachusetts stealing the title in 1998 and 1999.
While the Nutmeg State has the nation's highest average adjusted gross income at $64,724, its residents donate $175 less to charity than the national average. That ranks Connecticut 44th, a slip of seven places from last year.
Carol Schofield, of the Connecticut Council for Philanthropy, said she's disappointed to see where Connecticut ranks, but defends the state's charity work. Factors, such as the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001 and a slow economy may influence how much people are willing to donate, she said.
The index does not take into account non-itemized giving or volunteering, Schofield added.
The latest index reflects a country coping with an economic slump - the national average gross income in 2002 dropped nearly 2.4 percent to $45,953. Despite the drop, the average individual donation fell less than 1 percent.
Exceptions to the trend can be found in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont, where the decline in giving exceeded the decline in income.
Southern and Midwestern states, again, top off the generosity index. The region's high generosity level has been attributed to the practice of tithing - giving a tenth of one's earnings to the church.
Mississippi consistently earns its place as No. 1 on the list by generating the greatest disparity between income and charitable contributions. It is ranked as the poorest state in the nation, but comes in fifth on the index for its "giving" rank.
The average itemized filer in Mississippi reported $4,484 in donations in 2002. That beats the national average by $1,029.
Although critics accuse the generosity index of shaming states into giving more, officials at The Catalogue for Philanthropy say the survey is a way of comparison. The Boston, Mass.-based nonprofit group created the index eight years ago.
"Generosity is really what you give as a function of what you have," said spokesman Martin Cohn.
I guess I'll have to remember to use HTML next time (whenever that'll be...as I rarely add a comment #1 & even more rarely put a link there)
I have not met a nasty person here yet.
Well, maybe one, but she's from a blue state
and it shows. LOL!
Blue staters DO tend to stick out. ;o)
I hate to run, but need to.
I saw this in between reps.
I'm in the middle of my workout.
Today is upper body.
bump to rub in hippies' faces tomorrow
Thanks for doing the chart...that was actually my main point in starting the thread & yet I never made the point. I was tired of seeing those IQ charts (if they're true) with a lot of blue states on top...
LOL...but I'll forego creativity for charitable generosity since it tends to go hand in hand with conservative issues! I noticed that Oklahoma is #3. Not surprising. We're still mostly southerners at heart out here!
As much as I'd like to take the credit, I actually borrowed it from Michelle Malkin's site.
Thanks anyway...I'm going to send it around as well as include it in my "Today's Toons" thread tom'w.
Yeah, I'm sure tithing weighs in, but it's far from the whole picture. What you'll see in looking is what we already knew: Conservatives have far bigger hearts for helping others. Liberals don't want to give of themselves. They want the government to forcibly take from people and give to those liberals wouldn't dare even go around. Put it off on someone else. It's all about assauging their guilty consciences. Come to think of it, a LOT of liberalism is rooted in that. So many of them live perverted, amoral lives and they want society to sanction what they do so they can feel good about themselves.
MM
Libs only want to give to the less fortunate if they can give with someone elses money.
Yes, that would be the taxpayer's $$$
I know you're kidding, but I'll say it anyhow - all the truly creative people are on the Right. (As a grade schooler learning to make images, for example, there are those around here that never cease to amaze me).
What seems to drive so much of the Left's "art" is mental illness. Even a flailing babboon could throw a crucifix in urine.
You are exactly right. We have more than our share of creative geniuses. I formally stand chastened...lol!
You forgot Jerry Clower. I met him years ago when he came to speak at a band fund raiser. Does his name have an S at the end?
Thought you all might be interested...
Years ago a student told me that when he participated in a fund drive that seemingly "poorer" people were much more generous than those obviously "rich." So it's no surprise that MS, LA, and AR trump MA and NH in charitable giving. But MA and NH will still lecture the South on "compassion."
And today there was an article that Connecticut, the state with the highest wages in the country, gives less to charity. The other New England states were right behind CT.
There are so many that I left out.
This was off the top of my head. ;o)
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