Red States Feed at Federal Trough, Blue States Supply the Feed

[baldguy]

The Tax Foundation has released a fascinating report showing which states benefit from federal tax and spending policies, and which states foot the bill.

....

States Receiving Most in Federal Spending Per Dollar of Federal Taxes Paid:

1. D.C. ($6.17) (Blue)
2. North Dakota ($2.03) (Red)
3. New Mexico ($1.89) (Blue)
4. Mississippi ($1.84) (Red)
5. Alaska ($1.82) (Red)
6. West Virginia ($1.74) (Red)
7. Montana ($1.64) (Red)
8. Alabama ($1.61) (Red)
9. South Dakota ($1.59) (Red)
10. Arkansas ($1.53) (Red)

States Receiving Least in Federal Spending Per Dollar of Federal Taxes Paid:

1. New Jersey ($0.62) (Blue)
2. Connecticut ($0.64) (Blue)
3. New Hampshire ($0.68) (Red)
4. Nevada ($0.73) (Red)
5. Illinois ($0.77) (Blue)
6. Minnesota ($0.77) (Blue)
7. Colorado ($0.79) (Red)
8. Massachusetts ($0.79) (Blue)
9. California ($0.81) (Blue)
10. New York ($0.81) (Blue)

more
http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2004/09/red_states_feed.html

New name for Bush's Blue states: The Welfare States

[featherman]

1. Yeah, I've tried to explain this for YEARS to my

red state friends who are so critical of "big go'ment". What a joke. These states have been feeding at the trough then biting the hand that feeds them.

[Jade Fox]

4. Its so frustrating knowing that if those people got....

what they say they want, they would be screwed.

In the last couple of days I've been thinking how not only are we fighting
for ourselves, we are fighting to protect Bush supporter FROM themselves.

No wonder I'm so tired.

[JuniorPlankton]

2. Remarkable! n/t

[sandnsea]

3. Oooh, I have a map!!

I made it last year, please take it and spread it all over. It's on photobucket, so hopefully won't have any bandwidth problems.

[leftynyc]

5. Seems the red states are merely parasites

n/t

[jumpstart33]

19. Paste this over at the Freeper boards. You are preaching to the choir

at DU.

[soupkitchen]

6. Welfare States

Always ready to bite the hand that feeds them.

[Supersedeas]

10. Welfare States for Bush -- has a nice ring to it.

[markus]

7. Yeah, but N.D. is Blue in its Congressional delegation

It's really been the Dems who have delivered for us.

A lot of that return is in farm supports, military bases (we're in a nice spot for a big circle route to either Europe or Asia), and help for the aging, as our population is rapidly greying as there is a tremendous out-migration of younger people.

We're not voting Red because of federal largesse. We're voting Red in presidential elections because, well, because we're stupid.

[Merlin]

8. Only 5 of the top 25 are Blue; but 15 of the bottom 25 are Blue

Hmmmm. Methinks this will play in Peoria.

[The Backlash Cometh]

9. Okay, answer this question: In this latest stock disaster, which

state benefitted the most by filtering high salaries to their employees? Wasn't it New York? Didn't New Yorkers working for the banking, bonding & stock market live it up for years, at our expense? And now we come to find out it was all a false pyramid scheme - or a bubble.

I think it's time that New Yorkers add those big bonuses and benes back into the formula. Unless, of course, we as investors get a chance to invest somewhere else, other than Wall Street. When you can add all those benes back in, I'll start taking the Federal aid contrasts more seriuosly.

Also, the Indians might have a thing or two to say about that Federal Aid to New York since a lot of it came from their trust fund.

[Emillereid]

11. Speaking as a member of a blue state, California -- I want a divorce!

Not only do we pay the way for those in the red states, but we have to continually put up with their fascism and evangelical lunacy. My solution -- a break up. We get the NE, the Canadian border states, Illinois, the West coast -- they can have the rest. We give everybody five years to make the move into the country they want to live in. I am tired to the red states determining my destiny -- and to think I have to pay for it -- ENOUGH!!! They can form their own Christian Fascist states -- and good riddance!

[SquireJons]

12. This is not useful

To me, it seems more of a population density map than a reflection of political spending. Plus some of the designations are way out of whack. West Virginia a red state? New Mexico a blue? Get real, regardless of the last election, the reality is the other way around.

[Merlin]

16. Wrong. It's highly useful. And important.

When a state like ND gets back over $2 and the most densely populated state, NJ, gets just $62, something is wrong. The needs of the citizens in NJ are just as great--even greater--than those of ND.

One wonders whether gas tax highway funds are included in these numbers.

[ReaderSushi]

13. A bit out of context.

While it is generally true that red states tend to suck monies from blue states, some states have valid reasons. Alaska because of it's harsh weather and extreme geographic isolation needs the funds to function. To a lesser extent this applies to Hawai'i but Hawai'i at least has a strong tourism industry. New Mexico gets the bulk of it's funds because of all the federal laboratories. A lot of the federal spending is due to militarty bases which are built in red states because blue legislators tend not be a part of the Armed services comitee etc.

[Merlin]

17. So why does NJ get 62 cents, while PA gets $1.09 ???

These are injustices, and they are fair and legitimate political fodder.

[LisaM]

14. This happens in WA state, too - Seattle funds the whole state

and the rest of them won't admit it. All of our freaking tax money goes to I-405 as far as I can tell, and is sucked out of Seattle's parks, schools, and transit.

[Rose Siding]

15. Yeah, but they got screwed with the sports stadium

...which I voted against and still ticks me off.

And it's a point I hate to make because stats like those in the original post give lots of cred to the argument that dem policies/publics lead to more prosperity/production.

Even Alaska, as mentioned up thread, has a valid reason for needing help, but you'd think the *human* response would be to understand how important it is to help those in need. Many do, of course, but not enough. Instead, their govt stays repub.

[LisaM]

18. LOL, well at least I use the sports stadia.....

and the symphony hall and the opera house and every other public-benefiting thing that's in Seattle or King County. The Eastside AND Eastern Washington still get a disproportionate percentage of tax dollars. Meanwhile, every service I use (ferries, buses, parks, roads, sports leagues, libraries) are getting more and more squeezed. I vote yes on every kind of public funding, including schools, even though I don't have kids and neither do most of my friends. Frankly, if some SUV-driving libertarian on the Eastside doesn't like Safeco Field, they can bite me.