there are programs run in different places, such as one by our county sheriff's office, that collects unused cell phones, and distributes them to low income seniors and to work only calling 911. those are free phones i can understand, for the safety of seniors while out and about.

then there are free cell phone programs such as what auburn runs. those, not so much. :hihi:

It would be interesting to see what the actual republican to democrat ratio is among the nation's wealthiest people. Intuitively, I'd say if you took the nation's top 5% of wealthy folks, the gap isn't as large as one may think. I know that out of the top 10 wealthiest congressmen (and women), it's 7-3 in favor of democrats. Obviously, this isn't indicative of the whole country, but I found it interesting.

Really, I suppose it's all in how you define selfishness... For example:

RealClearPolitics - Articles - Conservatives More Liberal Givers (2008)

Of course, I suppose it's all in who you ask. I've also read that while republicans tend to give more money to charity, democrats are more likely to take up a cause and donate time to it.

I know they put it in terms of conservatives vs. liberals, but I'd wager it's safe to assume that most of the conservatives they speak of are republicans, and most of the liberals they speak of are democrats. Also, I'm fairly sure it's not too hard to find articles that also say essentially the same thing with republicans vs. democrats. I'll have to look in to that a bit further.

This from a research geek?

I am enjoying the fruits of 30 years of dues paying. Have you ever been to the scene of an 18 wheeler-car accident where the teen age driver got decapitated? Have you walked through the rubble after a tornado went through a neighborhood? Have you been awakened at 3 am by a beeper to get to the scene of a house fire and when you get there the Mom can't find one of her kids? By way, I am not a bean counter. I manage a group of technical auditors who are interested in saving claims dollars in order to make insurance costs, thus premiums, lower for you pasty faced spreadsheet readers.

I'll give you that, but my overall point in that post was the thought that republicans the embodiment of selfishness, while it may be one's personal view, is not necessarily an accurate one. Just because one side may have more money, doesn't mean they are selfish. In fact, in many cases it's just the opposite. I think the wealthy (republicans) get a bad rap in this case, as they generally donate a larger percentage of their income to charity.

I also find it interesting that some of the biggest advocates of social entitlements give the least amount of money to charity. To me, it seems Democrats are plenty generous, as long as it's not their money that they're contributing.

Biden gave average of $369 to charity a year - USATODAY.com (Dated 2008)

You're the one making class distinctions. You want to know why Republicans have all the money? I told you why.