The Rich are different... or are they?

Recently I've learned a couple of interesting and very surprising facts about America's rich people.

The stereotype American rich dude is always painted as a Republican, and the Republican Party has always been called "the Party of the Rich." But apparently America's wealthiest zip codes are overwhelmingly Democratic donors. That surprised me quite a bit, which shouldn't have, since my old neighborhood of Potomac, Maryland was and is definately a very pro-Democrat area and one of the wealthiest zip codes in the USA.

Yet another reason why I try really hard to ignore both the "vast right wing conspiracy" and the slightly less vast "left wing nutspiracy."

And now, to add to my confusion, the New York Times tells me that "the rich are giving more to charity than ever."

Roughly three-quarters of charitable gifts of $50 million and more from 2002 through March 31 went to universities, private foundations, hospitals and art museums, according to the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.

Read the NYT story here.

Perhaps the sky is not falling after all...