Goodbye, Pork Pie Democrat
by Jim Washburn
Funny, it is, all this recent talk of Republican governors balking at taking federal stimulus dollars, and the much-mooed Republican ethos of being against “government handouts” and Republican commentators complaining that such money just goes to fatten up the Democrats' voter base. Funny because, even pre-stimulus, an uneven and inordinate amount of federal pork flowed to Republican-run states.
Take Alaska, for instance, plucky, independent, oil-rich Alaska, with its two Republican senators and out-of-warranty Republican governor: for every tax dollar Alaska sends to Washington, it gets $1.83 back. That's a damn good investment.
And Alaska's just third in the handout line. The biggest recipient is Mississippi, which gets $2.2 dollars back for every $1 sent in. It too has a full compliment of Republicans in the Senate and the Governor's chair. Next is Louisiana, at $1.85, with one Republican Senator, one Dem and a Republican governor.
Alaska is trailed by South Carolina at $1.35 per $1—with two Republican senators and a Republican governor who desperately needs that money for trade missions to Argentina—and by Idaho at 1.19 per $1, again with Republican senators and governor, the latter charmingly named Butch Otter.
Where did their lucky dollars come from? From Democratic-leaning, hard-working states they like to make fun of, such as New York and California, not that I'm holding my breath waiting to hear a thanks.
Comments
No comments.
