If empathy increases with age and social experience, then one could argue that greater social responsibility for those less fortunate, including that which involves tax dollars (I'm a taxpayer; I can vote for that), can be a mark of maturity.

If one is an adult and not willing to consider the effects of one's actions on others, it may be the result of a lack of social interaction stimulating the brain centers that determine empathy.

I know where my social interaction comes from. I hear the voices of the adults in my family who took care of me when I was little quite clearly: "Hoarding is bad. Generosity is good. Give to those who need it because we are supposed to take care of each other. No one should ever go hungry, remain ignorant, be naked or homeless to preserve someone else's profit." I'll grant you it sounds overly simple, but I find that living that way causes me less anxiety than to wonder who's conspiring to pick my pocket. I'd rather open my wallet and pay the police a decent wage, so they can take care of those things, since they like that work, while I do the work I like.