And Wingers Said In 'Murica Land, Let My Tenthers Go

While I've seen this argument before, Marketwatch's Brett Arends reiterates with the new public option opt-out plan circulating that if the Red States want out, just let 'em go, they're a net drain on the economy.

Look at the numbers. New Jersey got back just 61 cents for every dollar it paid in federal taxes. Connecticut: 69 cents. Illinois: 75 cents. New York: 79 cents. Massachusetts: 82 cents. In other words, being a member of the union is costing these states billions in lost money.

Meanwhile Mississippi gets back $2 in federal spending for every dollar it pays in federal taxes. Alaska: $1.84. Louisiana: $1.78. North Dakota gets $1.68, Alabama $1.66, Tennessee $1.27, Idaho $1.21 and Arizona $1.19.

Red staters always like to accuse blue states of high taxes. But if they are right, one of the principal reasons blue staters are paying higher taxes is to subsidize...red staters.

Blue America paid these extra taxes because, on the whole, they have higher incomes, so they pay higher federal income taxes. (Note: The Tax Foundation analysis normalized the budget to assume no deficit, assuming, reasonably, that the future taxes to pay for the deficits would come from same people paying the current taxes.)

If you compare the states that went for John Kerry in 2004 with the states that voted for George Bush, a clear pattern emerges. Based on Tax Foundation numbers, Blue America paid somewhere in the vicinity of $800 per person in extra taxes to support Red America. No kidding: $800 for every man, woman and child.

The party of fiscal responsibility, indeed. New Jersey should tap Mississippi on the shoulder and say "Hey pal, I'd like my damn money back." If anyone should be complaining about paying for other people's health care, it's the blue states, not the red.

But then again, the argument was never about money, but race, class, and power.