Sing It, Buddy

Merry Christmas from Moody’s Pen and this Korean guy.

Why Give When the Gov’t Takes?

A little harsh honesty, from liberal commentator, Nicholas Kristof:

This holiday season is a time to examine who’s been naughty and who’s been nice, but I’m unhappy with my findings. The problem is this: We liberals are personally stingy. Liberals show tremendous compassion in pushing for generous government spending to help the neediest people at home and abroad. Yet when it comes to individual contributions to charitable causes, liberals are cheapskates.” When you’re spending other people’s money, it’s not compassion — it’s compulsion.

Arthur Brooks, the author of a book on donors to charity, “Who Really Cares,” cites data that households headed by conservatives give 30 percent more to charity than households headed by liberals. A study by Google found an even greater disproportion: average annual contributions reported by conservatives were almost double those of liberals.

I have long held that just because you think it’s good that the government forces people to give to charity, it doesn’t mean you care more for humanity than someone who would rather give privately. Sometimes people forget that government is not the only group in this country helping people. It just has the biggest PR machine.

Que the liberal knee-jerk reaction:

When liberals see the data on giving, they tend to protest that conservatives look good only because they shower dollars on churches — that a fair amount of that money isn’t helping the poor, but simply constructing lavish spires.

Just like all the money you are forced to give to the government goes straight into the pockets of the poor. We all know how well the government spends cash, and how successful government programs are at actually helping people.

Kristof continues:

Conservatives also appear to be more generous than liberals in nonfinancial ways. People in red states are considerably more likely to volunteer for good causes, and conservatives give blood more often. If liberals and moderates gave blood as often as conservatives, Mr. Brooks said, the American blood supply would increase by 45 percent.

Facts are stubborn things, aren’t they?

Christmas in Baghdad

Didn’t see this coming.

A Brilliant Idea

A company in the UK offers a service to poorly wrap Christmas presents. Why?

Get this:

[O]ne UK retailer is providing a wrapping service so shoddy the recipient will be left in no doubt her partner did it.

Firebox.com is paying 20 of its male forklift truck drivers and warehouse assistants to wrap presents as quickly as possible, using ugly brown duct tape and very little care.

And the $9 service, cheekily called CrapWrap, has attracted more than 500 customers since it launched last week.

H/T Tyler Cowen