America really is a giving country

From Arthur Brook’s piece on the American:

Americans are remarkably charitable. But what sorts of people give the most? And how do we compare with the Europeans?

Q. How much do Americans give? Is the amount we give going up?
A. In 2006, Americans gave about $295 billion to charity. This was up 4.2 percent over 2005 levels, and charitable giving has generally risen faster than the growth of the American economy for more than half a century. Correcting for inflation and population changes, GDP per person in America has risen over the past 50 years by about 150 percent, while charitable giving per person has risen by about 190 percent. That is, the average American family has gotten much richer in real terms over the past half century, and charitable giving has more than kept pace with this trend.

I noticed this personally after Hurricane Katrina. I lived in New Orleans during that time and after broadcasting live during the storm. I lost my job. But, a couple of my friends reached deep into their own pockets to help me out. I’m sure this happened to thousands of others as well. This won’t even be reported in Brook’s article because that form of giving doesn’t show up in any statistic.

Another great example is the money raised for Dave last week on Ankarlo Mornings. Dave called into the show to say it was the little things in life that made him happy despite falling behind on his truck payments. Ankarlo made the call out to you. And you not only helped Dave catch up with his truck payment, you raised enough money for Dave to pay off his truck so the creditors can never take it from him. Dave, an old Marine, got emotional when he was told the news. America is a great and generous nation and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

More from Brooks:

Q. Are Americans more or less charitable than citizens of other countries?
A. No developed country approaches American giving. For example, in 1995 (the most recent year for which data are available), Americans gave, per capita, three and a half times as much to causes and charities as the French, seven times as much as the Germans, and 14 times as much as the Italians. Similarly, in 1998, Americans were 15 percent more likely to volunteer their time than the Dutch, 21 percent more likely than the Swiss, and 32 percent more likely than the Germans. These differences are not attributable to demographic characteristics such as education, income, age, sex, or marital status. On the contrary, if we look at two people who are identical in all these ways except that one is European and the other American, the probability is still far lower that the European will volunteer than the American.