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Originally Posted by PaulS
Justplugit - those are all great acts of charity. My church also does some things I'm proud off to support the sick and less fortunate in my community.
My statement just refers to the fact that my donation to fufill my building fund pledge is treated no different that a donation I might make to the church to help fund our monthly meal at the local shelter. The only difference is that Lhea the church sec. applies the money to my building fund pledge - the IRS doesn't treat it differently. You and Jim aren't going to be able to use the gym or weight room while to some degree you helped build it.
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I hear you, and I don't disagree that there is a difference between donations used to feed the hungry, and donations used to build a sauna in your church's gym. But I don't think it's a huge deal, and I'd bet everything I have, that what yuo describe is not the reason consrevatives donate more than liberals. You implied that "self-serving" donations might be the reason that conservatives seem to give more, yet you offered no evidence other than to say that there is such a thing as a self-serving donation. That doesn't negate the studies that show that conservatives dobnate more.
It has also been shown that a larger percentage of charity dollars get to those that need it, rather than gubmint dollars. Governemnt programs are almost always inefficient, and often corrupt. That's a big reason why conservatives want to emphasize more charitable giving, and less government spending. For that, we get accused of not caring about poor people. It's ridiculous.