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Thursday, March 01, 2012

Ayn Rand Worshippers Should Face Facts: Blue States Are The Providers, Red States Are The Parasites

There's only one way to demonstrate who America's producers and parasites really are. It's time to go Galt.

Last week, the New York Times published a widely discussed article updating an argument that progressive bloggers noticed a very long time ago. It's now well-understood that blue states generally export money to the federal government; and red states generally import it.

TPM published a great map showing exactly how this redistribution works:

Progressives believe in the redistribution of wealth, so we're not usually too upset by this state of affairs. That’s what it means to be one country. E pluribus unum, and all that. We’re happy to help, because we think we’ve got a stake in making sure kids in rural Alabama get educations and seniors in Arizona get healthcare. What’s good for them is good for all of us. We also like to think they’d help us out if our positions were reversed. It’s an investment in making America stronger, and we feel fine about that.

But maybe it's time to admit that we're being played for chumps, and that there are people in the rest of the country who are taking way too much advantage of our good nature. After all: it's now a stone fact that the blue states and cities are the country's real wealth creators. That's why we pay more taxes, and are able to send that money to the red states in the first place. We're working our butts off, being economically productive, going to college, raising good kids, supporting reality-based schools, keeping our marriages together, tending to our busy and diverse cities, and generally Playing By The Rules. And the fates have smiled on us in rough proportion to the degree that we’ve invested in our own common good.

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5 comments:

Anonymous said...

lmao! I'm sure there's more people on welfare and taking handouts from the government in nyc, philly DC chicago, frisco, LA, and every other cesspool in this country then all the aid poured into the red states combined! but lets not let the facts interfere with what some liberal believes!

Anonymous said...

9:18. If you have ever been to these red states you might think differently. Poverty runs rampant all over the south. Much more so then the north. I have been there. A good portion of the people there have no choice but to receive welfare. The job situation is even worse. Even before the recession it was bad.

Anonymous said...

States don't pay taxes; individuals do. An analysis at a state level tells you absolutely nothing. You have to look at individuals. Do people who vote Republican get more in government benefits than those who vote Democrat? Do Republicans pay more in taxes? I don't know the answer to these questions, but that type of analysis at the individual level would tell you something.

Anonymous said...

Again the south drags this country down.

Anonymous said...

12:36 you're wrong and yes I've been to many of those states, as recently as last month. but don't let the facts interfere with what you believe. The numbers tell you everything you need to know. lets just look at which states vote consistantly democratic and which ones vote consistantly republican. Now why do people vote democratic or republican? You want a hand out vote democratic, you want the government out of your life vote republican.
That tells you everything you need to know. sorry for bursting your bubble!