Over the past decade, America has been the most generous country in the world. That is the conclusion of a new report of the Charities Aid Foundation, which ranks 128 countries according to how many citizens volunteer, help a stranger in need and donate money to a philanthropic cause. In the past year, almost three-quarters of Americans helped a stranger, more than half donated money and 42% gave their time. Charitable giving and voluntary aid have been features of American life since at least the 1830s, when Alexis de Tocqueville called attention to them in "Democracy in America."
But American generosity, rather than a reason for celebration, is viewed these days by many observers with deep suspicion. Many in the popular media are determined to show that the American system of voluntary giving is fundamentally unfair and helps to perpetuate what they call “systemic inequality.”
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