Watch what they do, not what they say.(Scan: Short news and commentary)(charitable donations of Americans)

The American people are truly generous. A few weeks ago the 400 largest charities in the U.S. reported that their total donations rose 12 percent in the latest year. Total charitable giving in this country now exceeds $260 billion annually. That is much higher on a per capita basis than giving in any other nation.

But not everyone in America gives proportionately. There are dramatic differences among regions, demographic groups, and political factions.

To begin, which do you suppose are the most generous states? Surely the bleeding-heart, share-the-wealth homelands like Massachusetts, Oregon, Wisconsin, and California, right? Wrong.

The Catalogue for Philanthropy compiles IRS data on charitable giving vs. income by state. Their measures show there is a big difference between prescribing benevolence and practicing it.

Remember all those rants after the 2004 election characterizing Red America as selfish and lacking in compassion? (If not, read Jane Smiley's essay at Slate.com for a good sample.) As Massachusetts journalist Don Feder commented at the time, "liberals have concocted a fantasy version of America, where all of the nation's brain power, productivity, and generosity reside in the Blue states, while Red America is a land of trailer parks, country-music bars, and Klan rallies."

So note that the benighted Bible Belt and other culturally conservative states dominate the chart to the left. People in the Red states give away a bigger portion of their income than counterparts in havens of Blue liberalism like California, Maryland, Washington, Vermont, and Oregon. The least generous region of the country is deep-Blue New England: the six stingiest states are New Hampshire (#50), Massachusetts (#49), New Jersey, Rhode Island (#47), Wisconsin, and Connecticut (#45).

Look specifically at how the very Bluest of the Blue (as limned by the results of the 2004 election) rank in charitable giving: