Nobody should be "bragging" about charitable giving -- true. But, this article is so bad because it comapares apples to hubcaps.
The American system has never been one in which charitable giving is primarily a public endeavor -- it's a private one here and the U.S. ranks third in the world per capita in private giving from what I can see...
http://www.owen.org/musings/generosityAny article worth citing would account for all charitable giving instead of the narrow-minded belief that only government can be generous.
I personally know of 5 chruches within 20-minutes drive time of my house that regularly send missions to Haiti with food, medical supplies, construction supplies, school supplies, and offers for sponsorship to attend American schools.
If we stopped being the world's policemen perhaps we could be higher than #12 in the world in total giving per capita. That's still pretty damn good and while nothing to "brag" about, is certainly not something to bash America over either.