Fundamental Difference Between Liberals and Conservatives

That difference is personal responsibility. Liberals believe that government has the right to take money from you and that Government gets to decide who needs the money more than you. Conservatives believe that the individual has the right to keep their own money and make their own decisions on how to help those less fortunate. There are studies to prove that conservatives give signivicantly more all across all income levels without a Government mandate.

A study by University of Indiana found that across all income levels, those defined as very conservative give 4.5% of their income to charity, while those defined as very liberal give 1.2% of their income to charity.

Recently, during an important speech, our President said that Americans have duties to ourselves, the nation, and the world. While not specific, we can see what kind of personal responsibility to others our President believes in via his own charitable activities.

According to his tax returns, our President only gave as much as 1.4% of his income to charity before he was in the United States Senate. In 2002, he gave only 0.4% to charity. Only when he reached the United States Senate did his charitable donations begin to climb. In 2006, he gave 6.1% of his income. While certainly noble, one could contend that it was merely political posturing.

Our Vice President, who said giving more to the Government is a Patriotic Duty, fares much worse when his own personal responsibility is measured by giving without a Government Mandate. His percentage of charity versus income never reached more tha 0.3%, which is where it peaked in 2007 despite making a six-figure income for decades.

I'm not here to tell you what to do with your money. If you want to give some, great...if not, that's fine too. But don't you think that people who call for us to have more personal responsibility to the nation and the world would practice what they preach in their own personal lives?