Sunday, January 31, 2010

RED STATE WELFARE QUEENS

I always find it amusing when I see this tax data. In a few words, it makes it clear that Republican, or Red, states in the country are the biggest recipients of federal tax dollars. On the other hand, the biggest tax contributors to our nation are Democratic states, like New York and California.

So, for example, while Sarah Palin likes to wax nostalgiac about the rugged individualists up in Alaska, for every dollar Alaskans pay into our nation's treasury box they take out $1.84. For every dollar California puts in we get 78 cents. Put another way, Alaska's hardened sense of "rugged individualism" is really built on a foundation of communal welfarism, direct from the American taxpayer in big Liberal states like New York and New Jersey.

This is what it looks like in graph form (click on graph to enlarge) ...



Here's a couple of other little tax nuggets you might find interesting. In the 2000 U.S. presidential election, George W. Bush won most of the states that are net beneficiaries of federal spending programs, while Al Gore won most of the states that are net contributors to federal spending.

Put another way, the Reagan loving Republican Red Staters are the real welfare queens of America. The Gipper would be proud ...


Last note. While their share of the income has increased, the tax burden on America's richest 400 tycoons has been going down for years.

- Mark

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