As you may have heard, we Massachusetts residents have something to crow about.

In the most recent charitable-giving survey - the ``Generosity Index'' - we rose from the 48th stingiest state in the nation to the 44th stingiest. If this do esn't call for cracking open a bottle of Blue Nun, I don't know what does.

Forty-fourth - that puts us ahead of three of the most respected states in the country: New Hampshire, Rhode Island and New Jersey.

Like you, perhaps, I'm not surprised that Massachusetts scored so well, because wherever you look these days, you see signs of our largess:

The Office of Travel and Tourism, for example, recently ran a contest for a new state slogan, and while hundreds of suggestions poured in for free, the office chose the one created by its advertising firm, which collects an annual retainer of $300,000!

The really nice thing is that the professional slogan, ``Massachusetts. Make it Yours,'' was no better than the others, but in the spirit of giving, the tourism office went for it anyway.

So ``Massachusetts. Make it Yours'' it will be, unless Jane Swift or her successor vetoes it, in which case, why not go for this one: ``Come Pinch a Penny in Massachusetts!''

And what about the Big Dig? If that's not a sign of philanthropy in action I don't know what is. Year after year we donate more and more to the project. Heck, we couldn't be freer with the money if it were, well, ours, and not the federal government's.

Meanwhile, some people may look at the survey numbers and say, well, 44th is better than 48th, sure, but shouldn't we try to do better?

No, no, no. If you read between the lines, you learn that the survey is not really just a rating of generosity, as it pretends to be, but an intelligence test, too: The rankings are calculated by measuring the disparity between what residents of each state earn and what they give.

Sure, we could be number one, if we gave away everything we have, like Mississippians do. The goody-two-shoes state has finished first in five of the last six annual surveys, an honor it pays for by impoverishing itself. This year it was the 49th poorest state in the country.

Not to be toooooo mean about it, but in a recent survey by another group, Morgan Quinto Press, Mississippi ranked as one of the three stupidest states - number 48 - and was named the least livable or healthy state in the country.

Enough said.

Meanwhile, the study authors acknowledge that their survey, compiled by the National Center for Charitable Statistics, is imperfect. Yeah, tell me about it. It doesn't, for example, account for volunteering.

Which as we all know is one of the commonwealth's great strengths. If you counted all the advice proferred gratis on our talk radio shows - on how to manage the Red Sox or balance the budget or raise your kids - you'd know we're a state full of donors.

And our motorists? I'll ask you a simple question: Are any other drivers so generous with the finger?