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Generosity Index 2004
Dartful Dodger:
This list takes all 50 states averages their annual income, and averages the amount of money they have donated that year. So it isn't the amount each state donates, but the percentage of their income they are willing to give to charity.
Generosity Index 2004
This is not a chart designed by an out of work guy from Denmark, this is a REAL chart, based on what every tax payer put down on their tax returns. Unlike IQ tests, which only shows the stats of the people that actually take the IQ test, this shows EVERYONE in that state.
An I.Q. if you believe the test results are accurate, are something you are born with. Generosity is something you choose.
What traits are more important are up to you, but how people treat those less fortunate is high on my list.
locash:
This is not based on what every tax payer put on their returns, but "is the aggregate data from the Internal Revenue Service on taxpayers who itemize and take a charitable deduction for their contributions." and "covers less than 30 percent of all US taxpayers, as over 70 percent take a standard deduction and do not itemize."
Raleigh:
Also the way they are determining the rankings is very flawed. They take your ranking on earnings minus ranking on giving. So if your state has the highest income 1, and also had the highest giving 1, your net rank relation would be zero. If you did it based on percentage of income given to charity (total givings divided by total income) West Virginia would be dead last, not 13th amoung many other changes to the rankings.
Dartful Dodger:
--- Quote from: Raleigh on November 12, 2004, 11:46:48 am ---Also the way they are determining the rankings is very flawed. They take your ranking on earnings minus ranking on giving. So if your state has the highest income 1, and also had the highest giving 1, your net rank relation would be zero. If you did it based on percentage of income given to charity (total givings divided by total income) West Virginia would be dead last, not 13th amound other changes to the rankings.
--- End quote ---
Since I believe that how you treat others is more important than how smart others think you are, here's a link with the list without any pesky math. This list shows what states gave more, but not what the states make.
Giving Rank
It's sad that the state with the lowest income is the 5th highest state to give to charity.
locash:
Yes, charity is a good thing. I am pretty sure we can agree on that. However, this ranking is meaningless (or at least as meaningless as the IQ ranking). The argument you made against the IQ ranking in your initial post was:
--- Quote ---Unlike IQ tests, which only shows the stats of the people that actually take the IQ test...
--- End quote ---
This "Giving Rank" suffers the same flaw; i.e. a limited sample of the population. As I noted in my earlier response, this ranking is based only on the returns of people who itemize deductions, not everyone in the state as you surmised.