To hear Barack Obama talk about helping those in need, you’d think he’s the most charitable guy on the planet. He just wants to help those who can’t help themselves, afterall… right? He advocates “spreading the wealth” and says it’s good for everyone. His running mate, Joe Biden tell us that paying higher taxes (so the government can decide who deserves your hard-earned money more than you) is “a patriotic act“.

Man, what a couple of selfless givers….

Or not.

Apparently while Barack Obama is saying things like:

“I think most people understand that if you’re not caring for your family, then you’re probably not the kind of person who’s going to be caring for other people.”

…his brother is living in a Kenyan shanty on less than $1 per month and his aunt is living in the projects in South Boston.

While Barack Obama is telling us that those who oppose higher taxes are “selfish“:

“John McCain and Sarah Palin they call this socialistic,” Obama continued. “You know I don’t know when, when they decided they wanted to make a virtue out of selfishness.”

…he’s “selflessly” giving less than 1% of his own income to those in need (not including the last couple of years where his percentage of giving has increased to coincide with his political campaigns) and his running mate is giving less than half one percent of his income to those in need.

To compare Obama’s and Biden’s “selflessness”, it’s worth noting that 89% of Americans contribute to charity at an average rate of 3.1% of income. (Further studies also show that conservatives already give to charity at a rate of 3.5 times more than liberals)

The fundamental difference is clear.

Conservatives want the freedom to be voluntarily charitable with their own hard-earned money.

Liberals want the power to be forcefully charitable with others’ hard-earned money.