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Let me Google that for you: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/jul/29/republican-states-balancing-their-budgets/ http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011

by crusso 14y ago

Let me Google that for you: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/jul/29/republican-states-balancing-their-budgets/ http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/jul/29/republican-s... Virginia, Louisiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Minnesota? Subsidies are what they are. Crappy accounting practices at the State and Federal level are what they are. The fact that states makes an effort to balance their budget says something about the greater accountability at the more local levels. Our Federal representatives don't even appear to have a modicum of shame over the fact that they don't even budget anymore. They just keep raising the debt ceiling, passing continuing resolutions, and printing money. It's astonishing that there are people who defend a centralized system that is completely unaccountable and destroying the country.

rayiner 14y ago
> Virginia, Louisiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Minnesota? Virginia, Louisiana, and Missouri receive more federal dollars than they pay in taxes. For Missouri, the net amount is 2.8% of GDP, Louisiana gets 4.4% of GDP, and Virginia gets a staggering 11.2% of GDP. North Carolina and Minnesota look pretty good, but they were up there with New York and Illinois in terms of budget deficits a couple of years ago: http://www.wral.com/news/local/politics/story/8049206/ http://www.wral.com/news/local/politics/story/8049206/
- crusso 14y ago
  Why do subsidies matter all that much? If they balance the budget with subsidies or without, they are BALANCING A BUDGET. If I get a bonus one year, I spend a little more. If I don't, I don't spend more. I balance the budget. It's about the discipline of balancing a budget, not the exact amount of money you get to balance.
  - rayiner 14y ago
    > Why do subsidies matter all that much? Because balancing a budget is easier when you have more money?
- AnthonyMouse 14y ago
  >Virginia, Louisiana, and Missouri receive more federal dollars than they pay in taxes. You don't see the irony in this context of asking for a state that pays more in federal taxes than it receives in federal dollars but still manages to have good finances? The reason New York (87%) and Illinois (111%) have such difficulties to begin with is that the federal government extracts so much more from their tax base than they get back in federal money. Minnesota (199%!) pays a higher percentage than Virginia (-145%) receives. ( Numbers are 1990-2009 federal taxes minus spending as percent of state GDP, from here: http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/08/americas-fiscal-union http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/08/americas-f... )

by crusso 14y ago

rayiner 14y ago

> Virginia, Louisiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Minnesota? Virginia, Louisiana, and Missouri receive more federal dollars than they pay in taxes. For Missouri, the net amount is 2.8% of GDP, Louisiana gets 4.4% of GDP, and Virginia gets a staggering 11.2% of GDP. North Carolina and Minnesota look pretty good, but they were up there with New York and Illinois in terms of budget deficits a couple of years ago: http://www.wral.com/news/local/politics/story/8049206/ http://www.wral.com/news/local/politics/story/8049206/

crusso 14y ago
Why do subsidies matter all that much? If they balance the budget with subsidies or without, they are BALANCING A BUDGET. If I get a bonus one year, I spend a little more. If I don't, I don't spend more. I balance the budget. It's about the discipline of balancing a budget, not the exact amount of money you get to balance.
- rayiner 14y ago
  > Why do subsidies matter all that much? Because balancing a budget is easier when you have more money?
AnthonyMouse 14y ago
>Virginia, Louisiana, and Missouri receive more federal dollars than they pay in taxes. You don't see the irony in this context of asking for a state that pays more in federal taxes than it receives in federal dollars but still manages to have good finances? The reason New York (87%) and Illinois (111%) have such difficulties to begin with is that the federal government extracts so much more from their tax base than they get back in federal money. Minnesota (199%!) pays a higher percentage than Virginia (-145%) receives. ( Numbers are 1990-2009 federal taxes minus spending as percent of state GDP, from here: http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/08/americas-fiscal-union http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/08/americas-f... )