The Blue States subsidize the Red States.

First of all, let's set aside a terrific myth, shall we? Especially in Buffalo, everyone thinks that a dramatic diminution in across-the-board taxes and spending will somehow lift New York into unparalleled prosperity. Alabama and Mississippi have ultra-low taxes. A "right-to-work" laws, which stifle union organization. When you think of Alabama and Mississippi do you instantly conjure up images of clean, orderly, top-notch schools, or excellence in any other area? I didn't think so. I do think that New York is over-taxed, is run by a horrific, bloated bureaucracy, has a corrupt and ineffective state government, and is essentially run by the shadow government of ultra-powerful authorities that are wholly unanswerable to the people of the State. Let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater, though. On to my point. The Red States voted Bush-Cheney in 2000, while the Blue States voted Gore-Lieberman. The Red States responded to Bush's tax cut/spending cut conservatism, his "plain talk", etc. They also responded to the fact that they are net recipients of Federal money. That's right. All of those Red State folks who hate welfare, class warfare and the distribution of wealth are actually the recipients of Blue State wealth. Bunch of ingrates.

States Receiving Most in Federal Spending Per Dollar of Federal Taxes Paid: 1. D.C. ($6.17) 2. North Dakota ($2.03) 3. New Mexico ($1.89) 4. Mississippi ($1.84) 5. Alaska ($1.82) 6. West Virginia ($1.74) 7. Montana ($1.64) 8. Alabama ($1.61) 9. South Dakota ($1.59) 10. Arkansas ($1.53) In contrast, of the 16 states that are "losers" -- receiving less in federal spending than they pay in federal taxes -- 69% are Blue States that voted for Al Gore in 2000. Indeed, 11 of the 14 (79%) of the states receiving the least federal spending per dollar of federal taxes paid are Blue States. Here are the Top 10 states that supply feed for the federal trough (with Blue States highlighted in bold): States Receiving Least in Federal Spending Per Dollar of Federal Taxes Paid: 1. New Jersey ($0.62) 2. Connecticut ($0.64) 3. New Hampshire ($0.68) 4. Nevada ($0.73) 5. Illinois ($0.77) 6. Minnesota ($0.77) 7. Colorado ($0.79) 8. Massachusetts ($0.79) 9. California ($0.81) 10. New York ($0.81) Two states -- Florida and Oregon (coincidentally, the two closest states in the 2000 Presidential election) -- received $1.00 in federal spending for each $1.00 in federal taxes paid.