During the Great Recession the poorest Americans increased their charitable giving 17%.  Much of that money went to relgious group providing faith based social services.  The wealthiest Americans?  They cut their giving by 4.6%.  Unlike their wealthy fellow citizens, middle income Americans joined those with lower incomes in giving away more.

Still, the wealthiest Americans enjoy the Bush era tax breaks while the wealth gap continues to grow.  Many wealthy Americans clearly understand that great economic disparity is not good morally or economically.  Yet the majority of the wealthiest Americans are forgetting that it is better to give then to receive.  Billionaires like the Koch brothers give hundreds of millions to candidates who promise to further cut taxes on the rich.

For people of faith, called to create just systems, it is imperative that we continue the work of building up the common good of this nation and the world.  That work must include raising taxes on the weathiest 1% so that we can create living wage jobs, improve public education, further improve health care, and do everything possible to make sure that every child born today has opportunities to thrive well into the future.