The Cost of Being Blue...
Let's play mini-Jeopardy. The answer: $136 billion. Try to guess the question.
In the fiscal year 2002, $136 billion was the income transfer from blue states to red states in federal tax dollars. In other words, blue states get $136 billion less in benefits fron the federal government than what they pay out in federal taxes. On the flip side, red states get $136 billion more. Only 2 red states, Nevada & Colorado, get less in benefits from the federal government than what they pay in federal taxes. As an empirical fact, this is b/c people in blue states tend to be more educated, have higher paying jobs, & actually work more. (For those of you who think I'm exaggerating, here are 2 articles to read: #1 & #2.)
The idea of an income transfer doesn't bother me. A good society looks out for those less fortunate, even if they live in another state. That's the rationale behind social welfare spending (e.g., Medicare, Social Security, public education), which red staters ironically rant against even though they're the ones receiving more of the benefits. However, the $136 billion bothers me for 2 reasons.
First, much of this money goes to government programs that don't actually help out people living in red states while having bad consequnces for everybody in general. An example of this would be agriculture subsidies, most of which go to large corporations instead of independent farmers. The consquence for the rest of us is that food is more expensive than it should be, raising the cost of living for everybody, including the poor urban & rural households who live in both blue & red states. Only a convoluted system of agriculuture susbsideis can make a gallon of milk cost more than a gallon of gasoline. Personally, I would like it if the money went to things that actually helped these people improve their lives, like better schools, job training, & crime prevention. (Click here for a cool article about this topic.)
Second, the $136 billion bothers me b/c people living in blue states don't seem to receive any benefit, financial or otherwise, in return. In addition to not going to programs that actually help people, the people in the red states seem to hate people living in the blue states as a result. There's a cultural divide in this country, but it has reached a toxic level where those in the red states feel morally superior to those in the blue states & feel entitled to despise them. If they want to be upset, they should look at the government b/c it's filled w/ guys who they elected. Although I find it troubling that the people who actually pay for the government don't actually elect the guys who decide where to spend their money, all things balance out in the long run & being a nation means being bound together. It would just be nice if the red staters didn't immediately judge & despise a person just b/c he or she disagrees w/ them, especially when we're trying to help them out.
In the fiscal year 2002, $136 billion was the income transfer from blue states to red states in federal tax dollars. In other words, blue states get $136 billion less in benefits fron the federal government than what they pay out in federal taxes. On the flip side, red states get $136 billion more. Only 2 red states, Nevada & Colorado, get less in benefits from the federal government than what they pay in federal taxes. As an empirical fact, this is b/c people in blue states tend to be more educated, have higher paying jobs, & actually work more. (For those of you who think I'm exaggerating, here are 2 articles to read: #1 & #2.)
The idea of an income transfer doesn't bother me. A good society looks out for those less fortunate, even if they live in another state. That's the rationale behind social welfare spending (e.g., Medicare, Social Security, public education), which red staters ironically rant against even though they're the ones receiving more of the benefits. However, the $136 billion bothers me for 2 reasons.
First, much of this money goes to government programs that don't actually help out people living in red states while having bad consequnces for everybody in general. An example of this would be agriculture subsidies, most of which go to large corporations instead of independent farmers. The consquence for the rest of us is that food is more expensive than it should be, raising the cost of living for everybody, including the poor urban & rural households who live in both blue & red states. Only a convoluted system of agriculuture susbsideis can make a gallon of milk cost more than a gallon of gasoline. Personally, I would like it if the money went to things that actually helped these people improve their lives, like better schools, job training, & crime prevention. (Click here for a cool article about this topic.)
Second, the $136 billion bothers me b/c people living in blue states don't seem to receive any benefit, financial or otherwise, in return. In addition to not going to programs that actually help people, the people in the red states seem to hate people living in the blue states as a result. There's a cultural divide in this country, but it has reached a toxic level where those in the red states feel morally superior to those in the blue states & feel entitled to despise them. If they want to be upset, they should look at the government b/c it's filled w/ guys who they elected. Although I find it troubling that the people who actually pay for the government don't actually elect the guys who decide where to spend their money, all things balance out in the long run & being a nation means being bound together. It would just be nice if the red staters didn't immediately judge & despise a person just b/c he or she disagrees w/ them, especially when we're trying to help them out.
posted by Jeff at 12/01/2004 09:58:00 AM
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