On American "Selfishness" & Global "Generosity"

From Instapundit: "that's how it is with nanny-state approaches: They dampen private impulses toward unselfishness, even as officials line their pockets." Americans give some of the most in the world to charity on a per capita basis except they don't do it through government. This is what offends rent seeking bureaucrats and proponents of big government the most. Engaging in ludicrous revisionism, these people would have us forget continued UN ineptitude and the fact that their dithering following the Tsunami resulted in as much as 30% being spent in overhead (Instapundit) - and that's not counting how much was spent in graft.

More from the DC Examiner: "Whatever the case is with his own selfishness, the evidence of an internationally superior American generosity is impressive, beginning with the numbers on our charitable giving. We give twice as much as the British per capita, and according to The American magazine, seven times as much as the Germans and 14 times as much as the Italians. Even in inflation-adjusted dollars, the amount given each year just keeps getting larger, and meanwhile, we do far more volunteer work than in other industrialized countries."

Further, this idea that we can spend our way out of global poverty is truly offensive as it not only takes away from the blame local governments deserve for perpetuating and creating poverty but implies that the world's poorest are somehow naturally less capable than the rest of us.