Posted on

Great American Road Trip Day 2 – Salt Lake City

Utah’s Lake Powell

Day Two started with a visit to Goldy’s Breakfast Bistro on South Capitol Blvd., which is located in the increasingly hip downtown area of Boise.

Goldy’s delivers the solid hipster breakfast experience, which includes long lines and no reservations.  Food-wise it pretty good, but personally I’m a little hipstered-out right now.  Gretchen’s meal included Hollandaise sauce, and it was really well done – very light and fluffy.  However, it did lack flavor and needed some lemon juice and salt.

Overall, good food but not if you’re in hurry.

Continue reading “Great American Road Trip Day 2 – Salt Lake City”

Posted on

Charity in America – Surprising Insights

Charitable Giving in the United States
Who tops our “Shame Score”?

A report was released today by The Chronicle of Philanthropy, titled “How America Gives.”  The report maps charitable giving by state, city and neighborhood, by analyzing IRS personal income tax data at the zip code level.  Using the amount of charitable deductions, The Chronicle’s report showed which places gave the greatest (and least) portion of their income to charity.  (Actually, the report would be more accurately named “Where America Gives,” not “How.”)

I did a similar analysis about a year ago, using the same data, and I’m pleased to see we reached the same conclusions.  To summarize it simply, the poor give a greater percent of their income to charity than the wealthy, and people are more likely give more in states that vote Republican and are strongly religious.

The states with the highest percentage of claimed charitable contributions are Utah, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, and South Carolina.  The least generous states are New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.

I must admit, this is not what I had expected to find.

Continue reading “Charity in America – Surprising Insights”