Not only that, but these statistics that always get cited leave out federal subsidy of state and municipal bonds through tax exemption of interest payments - al

Not only that, but these statistics that always get cited leave out federal subsidy of state and municipal bonds through tax exemption of interest payments - allowing states to pay less than they would otherwise. And the states with most the most taxpayer supported debt (both state and municipal) tend to be blue states. The explicit purpose of this system is to reduce the debt burden for state and local governments, yet its not considered a subsidy by these stats because the federal government isn't directly giving anyone money.