Moochers? Blue States Subsidize Red States

[louis c]

Again, I must reply to my ill informed right wing Republican friends to not let their facts get in the way of a good argument.

As it turns out, the top ten states that send more money to Washington than they receive are among the most reliably blue states in America. In contrast, of the 10 most dependent states in America, 8 are Red.

Digging deeper into the numbers, blue counties overwhelmingly subsidize red counties.

Here is a September 18, 2012 article on the subject. (Ironically enough, that date was my 60th birthday).

Link:
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/economic-intelligence/2012/09/18/obama-supporters-subsidize-romney-supporters-with-their-taxes-

[beachbumbob]

1. facts don't work in debate with rightwingers

never have and never will

[doc03]

2. The red states would scream bloody murder if the federal money

was divided up among the states in proportion to the tax revenue received from each. They would become socialists overnight.

[liberal N proud]

3. Telling these people to pull up their boots taps doesn't work...

From the article:

Without government support it's hard to see a way to break the cycle of poverty and dependence. At least so far, the formula of small government, limited services, low investment, and low taxes that conservative states have implemented for themselves hasn't helped their economies much.

[dae]

4. Teabaggers in Red states will tell you

they have more mooches in their state (people of color) than blue states.
Prejudices, it's what drives them.

[geckosfeet]

5. They deserve it because god likes them and the are good christians. Or something.

Obama Supporters Subsidize Romney Supporters With Their Taxes

Here's the evidence: The 10 "Tax Producing States" listed below, left, contribute the most in tax revenues relative to the services they consume. They usually vote Democratic. The ten "Tax Dependent States" listed below consume the most in government services relative to the taxes they pay. And they usually vote Republican. (Each state's name is shown in blue if voters there lean toward Obama, and red if they lean toward Romney, as per Nate Silver's 538 blog.)



This situation would be funny if it weren't so tragic. When a tax protester yelled "Keep your goddamn government hands off my Medicare" many scoffed at that one person's ignorance. But most Americans who rail against taxes and the size of government are profoundly unaware that taxes they hate fund the programs they want and need. And they are unaware that the states and counties inhabited by "welfare queens" and "freeloading illegals" are actually sending them the money that keeps them fed, cared for, and educated.

Obama Supporters Subsidize Romney Supporters With Their Taxes

He he he. I don't see MA in that list on the left. He he he. We are gaming the system.....

[customerserviceguy]

7. If you take out military spending

I wonder what that chart would look like. It's my impression that the states listed on the right side of your chart have far more military bases, etc. per capita than the states on the right side of the chart. Lower population in the states on the right is also a big factor, I'm sure that's why North Dakota is on that list.

[Ya Basta]

6. Thanks louis c for the link, good read.

This situation would be funny if it weren't so tragic. When a tax protester yelled "Keep your goddamn government hands off my Medicare" many scoffed at that one person's ignorance. But most Americans who rail against taxes and the size of government are profoundly unaware that taxes they hate fund the programs they want and need. And they are unaware that the states and counties inhabited by "welfare queens" and "freeloading illegals" are actually sending them the money that keeps them fed, cared for, and educated.

Put It to a Vote

Let's put the question of a tax rates to a national referendum and see what Americans really want. Allow voters in each county to decide whether to keep their state and federal taxes at their current level or to lower them. The catch is this: If you vote to lower your taxes then your county or state can't take out any more money than it puts in. Perhaps this would make everyone happy. Red counties would get the lower taxes and vastly reduced services they want. And people in Blue counties (once they stop trying to give their money to people who don't want to receive it) would keep more of their hard-earned cash, and enjoy vastly better-funded local services. Let's give it a try.

[louis c]

9. You're Welcome

[Island Blue]

8. You kind of have to be careful with this argument because

a lot of people in those states that are highly subsidized would argue that it's because (in general) they have larger minority populations than some of the states that are less subsidized.

[Jennicut]

10. In Alaska and North Dakota they don't.

What answer would they have for that? Less population?

[VenusRising]

11. The Blue subsidizing Red goes on even into the county level.

The same imbalance prevails within states, at the county level. The Blue counties contribute the most state taxes relative to the services they consume. The Red counties consume the most services relative to the taxes they pay.