This time of year it\u2019s common for progressives to view Republicans as a bunch of Scrooges. But when it comes to charity, this simply is not true. Republicans are more generous in their charity giving than either Democrats in the United States or Europeans at large. Further evidence was gathered in a January, 2016 Occasional Planet survey<\/a> of Americans.<\/p>\n As EthicsDaily.com<\/a> reports, \u201cRed states \u2013 Republican-voting states \u2013 are more generous than blue states \u2013 Democratic-voting states.\u201d Many conservatives are aware of this disparity and like to crow about it \u2013 as if they are the truly compassionate ones. The problem with this contention is that it assumes that all compassion is shown through charity. Many Democrats, who well may contribute less to charities than conservatives do, look at compassion as being more than charity. For most democrats, helping those in need is one of several fundamental roles of government. They contend that government should have primary responsibility for redistributing incomes (and isn\u2019t that in essence is what charity is) should best be done by the federal government because it is the most efficient, effectively targeted, and fair way to help others.<\/p>\n Republicans donate to charity at a higher level than Democrats and the strength of that giving by the GOP propels the U.S. to much higher figures that European Nations. As Investor\u2019s Business Daily reports:<\/a><\/p>\n In no European economy are the people more generous with their own money than the people of the U.S. According to Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development data, which have been thoughtfully assembled by Cato scholar Dan Mitchell, the total of Americans’ voluntary social spending reached 10.2% of GDP in 2009, the latest year for which numbers are available.<\/p>\n The only country that is remotely close in its generosity is the Netherlands, where the total was 6% of the nation’s economy. Only two other nations, Canada and the United Kingdom, exceeded 5%. The U.K. totaled 5.3% of GDP, Canada 5.1%.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Republicans have historically promoted more in the way of charitable giving. Their support of large charitable organizations such as traditional religious organizations and welfare organizations like the Red Cross reflect their commitment to trying to help those in need. But truth be told, what they offer to large charitable organization is often less than ten percent of what the federal government provides to address these issues. Most illustrative is an interview by St. Louis Public Radio\u2019s Don Marsh and Congressman Todd Akin when he was running for reelection in 2010.<\/p>\n