Updated Information on Red State Socialism

[David Franks]

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I have been looking for updated information on this topic for quite some time, as the "Red State Socialism" graphic (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3041/298 ... 7522_o.jpg) is based on figures from 2005.

Interestingly, Arkansas has dropped from receiving $1.41 in federal spending per dollar of federal tax paid (2005) to $0.73 ($1.02 per capita). I guess we aren't the big welfare queen we used to be. On the other hand, Florida has gone from net contributor to net recipient (from $0.97 to $1.20/$1.68), at the same time flipping from red state to blue state, based on presidential election results. Texas, always red, went from $0.94 to $0.85/$1.19. Good stuff.

Most Red States Take More Money From Washington Than They Put In
Even as Republicans gripe about deficit spending, their states get 30 cents more federal spending per tax dollar than their Democratic neighbors.

—By Dave Gilson | Thu Feb. 16, 2012 4:00 AM PST

"It's no secret: The federal budget is expanding faster than tax revenues, a trend that's been fueled by the rapid growth of entitlement programs and exacerbated by the recession. As a recent New York Times article documents, even as fiscally conservative lawmakers complain about deficit spending, their constituents don't want to give up the Social Security checks, Medicare benefits, and earned income tax credits that provide a safety net for the struggling middle class.

"This gap between political perception and fiscal reality is also reflected in the distribution of tax dollars at the state level: Most politically "red" states are financially in the red when it comes to how much money they receive from Washington compared with what their residents pay in taxes.

"A look at 2010 Census and IRS data reveals that the 50 states and the District of Columbia, on average, received $1.29 in federal spending for every federal tax dollar they paid. That means that some states are getting a lot more than they put in, and vice versa. The states that contributed more in taxes than they got back in spending were more likely to have voted for Obama in 2008 and were more likely to be largely urban. (There are some clear exceptions: For instance, New Mexico, a rural, Democratic state, gets more federal money per tax dollar than any other state.)"

[Interactive maps for federal spending/federal tax paid. red/blue, urban/rural follow. Overall spending and spending per capita are indicated for each state in each map.]

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/201 ... harts-maps

[Dardedar]