A little bit of vindication for comments I made in 2004.

Townhall.com’s Doug Wilson has an interesting article that ties increases of charitable giving to tax cuts. This should make sense: if the government isn’t taking money away from you, that’s more money you can give!

Wilson has some choice observations:

With increasing frequency, Americans are educating themselves about global issues and working to fix the problems they see in concert with private organizations. In so doing, Americans breed a culture of self-reliance by acknowledging that government cannot fix every problem plaguing the modern world.

[W]e do know from the experience in Western Europe, that as taxes went up, giving went down. Why? Because the state was going to solve the problem – not individuals. This leads some to contend that tax cuts hurt those in need. The truth is though, that when Americans keep more of their money they will often use it to help those in need—sans any governmental mandate to do so. Moreover, private citizens will consistently make more efficient use of their resources than government would because private giving creates partnerships between individuals and organizations and fosters accountability. For example, my wife and I are directly involved in three charities – two local and one global – where we partner with government but we also oversee the expenditures, have access to the board, and help shape strategy based on what is best for the local community.

Ponder for a minute all of the pork projects that government wastes or seeks to waste our money on. The last bill that earned President Bush’s sixth(!) veto, The Wall Street Journal reports (subscription required if not found through Google News), contained 2200 earmarks worth over $1 billion of our money. Would you rather see money taken from you and spent on a Woodstock museum or $3.7 million for the AFL-CIO, or would you prefer to direct that money to the cause of your choice by the signature of your own check?