The way that the far right likes to spin the role of government is that in the "Red States" like Texas, there is less government unlike in the "Blue States" where people want their government big. Well, a study shows that it is the Red States that suck from the government's teat, getting back more in federal money than they pay in taxes. For example, Mississippi gets back a whopping $1.84 for ever dollar it gives to Washington, while my adopted state of Minnesota gets back a measly 77 cents. So in essence, I am easing the tax burden of some guy in Natchez, MS.
The next time someone in a Red State talks about the evil government, you might want to remind them not to bite the hand the feeds them.
Special hat tip to Andrew Sullivan.
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Posted by: solutions at October 18, 2005 12:21 PMYeah, this fiscal breakdown is actually one of the amazingly underreported stories of the last several years. I first saw a map like this shortly after the 2000 election on Salon.com and was blown away.
Then Bush got his tax cuts, the economy tanked, and suddenly the states were bankrupt.
Dorsano's right though that liberals don't mind. In fact, liberals (as is widely reported on Rush Limbaugh) consistently vote for higher taxes. That's because a segment of the population does believe in such a thing as "obscene wealth" and also believes that there is such a thing as enough. And sharing excess.
I live in Atlanta. I make a good living. I have health insurance and a job I really like. And I'm well aware that I'm paying for the people in Albany, GA and all those other little places to have roads, and schools, and for the phone companies to extend broadband infrastructure out to their little houses. And I'm okay with that--I've got mine.
Could I be richer? Sure. Would I be safer or happier if all those red-state Georgians were mobbing my city looking for jobs? Sure wouldn't. There's certainly self-interest involved, too.
Posted by: shamanic at September 29, 2004 10:04 PMDennis - liberals don't care that they're supporting the red states - that's why the states liberals congregate in are blue states.
If there's a poor state somewhere that needs some help educating it's future workforce so it can attract more and better paying businesses, liberals are willing to do that - that's what makes them liberals.
Some liberals do get pissed off when people take federal tax money and don't pay to take care of their own. But those types are really closet conservatives anyways and they don't count.
So this is really a win-win situation - liberals get to do something that makes them feel good and conservatives get a ride at bargain prices.
And we can beat up on liberals at the same time.
So don't spoil it.
Posted by: dorsano at September 28, 2004 09:30 PM