The problem with the assertion that conservatives and religious fanatics “give” to charities is their definition of charity.
Sadly, in the US, “non profit” does not mean what most of us might think. E.g. Mitt Romney is major investor in “Bright Horizons.” BH is .. for tax purposes .. non profit but it can produce returns\ to investors through gimmicks in the tax code .. as in life estate donations. I suspect Mr. Romney does well off of Bright Horizons.
Another example is giving a friend of mine who is a Jehovah’s Witness. This friend does give and gives a lot .. but all or cost of that is to his religion. So my friend gets a tax deduction for “giving” to what the rest of us may see as his social club. Why is a gift to a church deductible but a gift to a yacht club (BTW also a non profit) not free of tax?
One wonders at the portion of the gifts to any religious charity end up helping the poor? Billy Graham has long lived in a palatial estate. His son now manages the Graham, Inc. charities.
religious charities also seem to escape the smell test when it comes to morality. Why is a gift to some missionary organization that preaches the killing of gays (in Uganda) tax deductible but a gift to a political organization devoted to educating Americans about the evils of Rand Paul not deductible?
On a less vindictive note, does anyone really think that Harvard and the Vatican are NOT profit making?
The worst offenders, in my opinion, are the wealthy who create foundations to immortalize their own beliefs and pay their own heirs to manage these “non profits.” I wonder how much the Gates foundation pays in overhead to support Bill’s family? At a guess, quite a lot. One piece f evidence comes from looking at the life style of Bill Clinton. He and Hillary left the White House nearly bankrupt with huge debts due to Bill’s legal problems. While I have no doubt that Bill’s many charities do good, his income comes from creating a non profit empire of charities.
Bill Clinton is hardly alone. Newt Gingrich may be a better example of the self serving success of a non profit entrepreneur.