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Not even close, Delaware, Minnesota, and Illinois are the top 3 that get the least back from federal taxes on a per dollar basis. http://www.theatlantic.com/bu

by mitchty 11y ago

Not even close, Delaware, Minnesota, and Illinois are the top 3 that get the least back from federal taxes on a per dollar basis. http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/05/which-states-are-givers-and-which-are-takers/361668/ http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/05/which-st... California is almost parity for dollars in versus received. The bigger question is if that is even a valid comparison to make that 14 states get back less in federal dollars than input. If it is then you'll have to concede that Wyoming, Kansas, and Utah, aka: decidedly not blue states, are in the same boat as "we blue states". I grew up in one of those states that is in the top 5 of dollars received. Main reason is the entire state has next to no population. I'm not sure how you get it to parity without a population to do so. That and despite being quite liberal, I have to admit this argument that this is a blue versus red state thing based on dollars received is maddeningly annoying and disingenuous. If America loses those red states, we lose a lot of our ability to feed ourselves on our own. The grain belt is a huge asset, even given its cost. Giant cities are not islands unto themselves. /squirrel banter mode off.

alasdair_ 11y ago
>on a per dollar basis. Surely what matters is actual dollars. Delaware has less than a million people living in it. California has almost forty million. So long as CA is contributing a net positive percentage to the federal government, it's very likely that they are contributing more overall to the well being of the nation than Delaware is.
- mitchty 11y ago
  Thats great, so which is it then, total dollars or return on federal dollars? If i put in 1k in federal taxes and get 800 back, what matter is it what state i'm in? Or are we saying Delaware residents getting 70 cents on the dollar is not as bad as Californians getting 95 cents because there are more people, thus Californians are more important? I'm honestly not trying to be a dick here but what exactly is the argument outside of if you aren't California or New York, you're not important to the conversation. Give me numbers not supposition, how much has California invested in federal dollars versus the other 14 states getting less than their input. Without that this amounts to a pointless discussion.
  - corin_ 11y ago
    I don't have numbers but his point is that a per-dollar amount doesn't show how much a state is contributing at all. > If i put in 1k in federal taxes and get 800 back, what matter is it what state i'm in? Or are we saying Delaware residents getting 70 cents on the dollar is not as bad as Californians getting 95 cents because there are more people, thus Californians are more important? Californians aren't more important individually, but California is. Obviously a million people with $5 each is a larger sum than twenty people with $10 each.

by mitchty 11y ago

alasdair_ 11y ago

>on a per dollar basis. Surely what matters is actual dollars. Delaware has less than a million people living in it. California has almost forty million. So long as CA is contributing a net positive percentage to the federal government, it's very likely that they are contributing more overall to the well being of the nation than Delaware is.

mitchty 11y ago
Thats great, so which is it then, total dollars or return on federal dollars? If i put in 1k in federal taxes and get 800 back, what matter is it what state i'm in? Or are we saying Delaware residents getting 70 cents on the dollar is not as bad as Californians getting 95 cents because there are more people, thus Californians are more important? I'm honestly not trying to be a dick here but what exactly is the argument outside of if you aren't California or New York, you're not important to the conversation. Give me numbers not supposition, how much has California invested in federal dollars versus the other 14 states getting less than their input. Without that this amounts to a pointless discussion.
- corin_ 11y ago
  I don't have numbers but his point is that a per-dollar amount doesn't show how much a state is contributing at all. > If i put in 1k in federal taxes and get 800 back, what matter is it what state i'm in? Or are we saying Delaware residents getting 70 cents on the dollar is not as bad as Californians getting 95 cents because there are more people, thus Californians are more important? Californians aren't more important individually, but California is. Obviously a million people with $5 each is a larger sum than twenty people with $10 each.