Welfare Queen Red States

I screwed up. There is a more recent version of the state give and receive tax table from The Tax Foundation.

In 2003, California only got back $0.78 on the dollar it put into the country; Virginia got back $1.58.

My friend who shall remain nameless in Virginia would do well to explain why the capitalistic nature of the welfare queen state Virginia is much, MUCH less productive than those damned socialists in California.

And then there is Alaska. Alaska gets $1.89 back on the dollar. What's more, they give tax rebates to their citizens annually. Since when should, say, Illinois which gets $0.73 and New Jersey which gets *shudder* $0.57 back subsidize that? I mean, there may be legitimate reasons for it, but it would be good to know what they are.

To be fair, Mississippi's take has dropped from $1.84 on the dollar to $1.83 from 2002 to 2003, so they are clearly righting the ship. Still, what exactly is the New York taxpayer getting in return for the 20 cents out of each dollar that is not being returned to New York? I mean, it isn't as if New York is in need of any massive reconstruction projects, is it?