« Top 10 Outrageous Taxes | Main | IRS: Charity Cannot Administer Payroll Deduction Plan for PAC »
November 16, 2004
States Providing Feed for Federal Trough Get Redder (Not Dumber); States Supplying the Feed Get Bluer (Not Smarter)
A follow up to our pre-election post, Red States Feed at Federal Trough, Blue States Supply the Feed, which linked to a new Tax Foundation study and Roth & Company map showing in red the states that receive more in federal spending than they pay in federal taxes, and in blue the states that receive less in federal spending than they pay in federal taxes:
 |
Presidential election junkies will note that the states receiving more in federal spending than they pay in federal taxes became increasingly Red in 2004 (81% for Bush, compared to 76% in 2000), and states receiving less in federal spending than they pay in federal taxes became increasingly Blue (75% for Kerry, 69% for Gore):
 |
As many of you know, there has been a story making the rounds in the blogosphere claiming that residents of Red States that voted for Bush (and receive more in spending than they pay in taxes) have lower IQ's than residents of Blue States that voted for Kerry (and receive less in spending than they pay in taxes):
 |
Like other urban legends, the IQ story has been thoroughly discredited (see here, here, here, and here).
November 16, 2004 in Political News | Permalink
TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d8341c4eab53ef00d834568d5069e2
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference States Providing Feed for Federal Trough Get Redder (Not Dumber); States Supplying the Feed Get Bluer (Not Smarter):
» Red States At The Trough from Centerfield
Taxprof has a follow-up with neat maps on his post showing how the red states are in general the beneficiaries of federal spending, while the blue states pay up. The maps show a decent correspondence. Among the explanations that come... [Read More]
Tracked on Nov 16, 2004 4:36:18 PM
Comments
I just realized something and I would like you big brains to tell me if it makes any sense or not.
Say the Republicans manage to enact Jim DeMint-style fundamental tax reform -- a national sales tax -- to replace the income tax. Would this not result in a dramatic reduction in the flow of revenues from the higher-income blue states?
In other words, would this not be an incredibly cruel joke on red staters -- one of those "be careful what you wish for" situations?
Posted by: Bob Wells | Nov 16, 2004 3:48:13 PM
What would the map of net tax benefit/outflow look like if it were shown county by county? I ask this because the blue states are by no means all blue -- quite the contrary in some cases. Just look at: http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/vote2004/countymap.htm
Just curious.
Robert
Posted by: Robert C. Petty | Nov 16, 2004 5:21:17 PM
The above, taken by itself, is a little misleading. Here are my own little top ten lists based on a recent lengthy US Census Bureau news report (Figures 5 & 7; http://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/03fas.pdf).
Federal Aid to State and Local Governments, Per Capita Amounts by State (2003). Red-Blue based on 2004 election.
States Receiving the Most Per Capita*
1. Alaska (Red)
2. Wyoming (Red)
3. New York (Blue)
4. New Mexico (Red-borderline)
5. Vermont (Blue)
6. North Dakota (Blue)
7. Maine (Blue)
8. West Virginia (Red)
9. South Dakota (Red)
10. Rhode Island (Blue)
Total - 5 Red, 5 Blue
*Excluding D.C. - Which is blue and at the top of the list.
States Receiving the Least Per Capita
1. Virginia (Red)
2. Nevada (Red)
3. Colorado (Red)
4. Utah (Red)
5. Kansas (Red)
6. Florida (Red)
7. Indiana (Red)
8. Georgia (Red)
9. Texas (Red)
10. Illinois (Blue)
Total - 9 Red, 1 Blue
So while Red states are putting in less, they are also recieving very few benefits compared to Blue States.
Posted by: Dr. Patterson | Dec 11, 2004 2:35:21 PM
