XPost: ca.politics, misc.survivalism   
      
   somebody else made that happen expressed precisely :   
   > On 9/27/2012 6:07 PM, FirstPost wrote:   
   >> They love Bush and are very backward people   
   >   
   > You need an icepick in your ear.   
      
   Must be awful being in the cross hairs, you dumb southern goober.   
      
   Red States = Welfare States.   
      
   A recent report in the New York Times ("Even Critics of Safety Net   
   Increasingly Depend On It", February 11, 2012) finds that more "red   
   states" than "blue states" get more federal tax dollars than they pay   
   taxes to the federal government.  Citing 2010 Census and IRS data, the   
   Times reports that the 50 states and the District of Columbia, on   
   average, received $1.29 in federal spending for every federal tax   
   dollar they paid.  Nineteen Republican/Red states received more than $1   
   in federal spending for every tax dollar they sent to Washington,   
   whereas 16 Democratic/Blue states did.  Conversely, only three   
   Republican/Red states received less than $1 for every $1 of taxes they   
   paid (Nebraska, Arkansas, and Texas) while 13 Democratic/Blue states   
   received less than they paid in.   
      
   States receiving the most federal money for every dollar in taxes paid   
   are:   
      
   1. New Mexico, $2.63 (Blue)   
      
   2. West Virginia, $2.57 (Red)   
      
   3. Mississippi, $2.47 (Red)   
      
   4. District of Columbia, $2.41 (Blue)   
      
   5. Hawaii, $2.38 (Blue)   
      
   6. Alabama, $2.03 (Red)   
      
   7. Alaska, $1.93 (Red)   
      
   8. Montana, $1.92 (Red)   
      
   8. South Carolina, $1.92 (Red)   
      
   10. Maine, $1.78 (Blue)   
      
   One explanation for this apparent contradictory fact (those Red states   
   sure are moaning about deficits, dead-beat layabouts collecting welfare   
   and Medicaid, etc) is that most of the Red states are rural, and rural   
   states are more likely to receive federal monies.   
      
   Believe it or not, California ranked 43rd in this comparison.  For   
   every dollar Californians paid in federal taxes, people in the state   
   received $0.83 in federal spending.   
      
   It doesn't look like folks in the Red States are willing to give up   
   their Social Security, Medicare benefits, and earned income tax   
   credits.  They just want someone else to do it!   
      
   Interestingly enough, a different report from the Center on Budget   
   Policy and Priorities pokes holes in the conservative argument that   
   entitlement programs have created a nation of deadbeats who would   
   rather live off of government handouts than find a job (sound familiar,   
   Krag?).  Only a fraction of government benefits and assistance goes to   
   able-bodied workers.  About 9%, to be exact.  It turns out that   
   virtually all so-called "entitlement" benefits go to the elderly, the   
   disabled, and the working poor.   
      
   The bulk of both Medicare and Social Security goes to the elderly (duh   
   ... that's who those two programs are designed to assist), while the   
   bulk of the remaining funds goes to people who are disabled.  The   
   Earned Income Tax Credit goes almost exclusively to the working poor   
   (you have to have income to qualify).  Here's some more facts:   
      
   96% of the Child Tax Credit goes to the working poor, 91% of Earned   
   Income Tax Credit, 84% of CHIP (with state matching funds), 83% of   
   Medicare (with state matching funds), 79% for school lunches, 78% for   
   the WIC program (thank goodness for WIC when I raised three foster   
   children), 69% of unemployment compensation, 69% of low income energy   
   assistance, 65% for rental assistance, 64% for SNAP, and 46% of TANF   
   basic assist (with a state match).  Many people think that most of   
   Medicaid goes to welfare recipients and no-gooders, but actually 83%   
   goes to the elderly, disabled and working poor.   
      
   Of the 9% that goes to the classic welfare bum (able-bodied   
   free-loaders sponging off the government dole), most of the assistance   
   they receive is for medical care, unemployment benefits, Social   
   Security survivor benefits, and Social Security benefits for retirees   
   between the ages of 62 and 64.  Seven of the nine percent of federal   
   spending goes for these four purposes.   
      
   --- SoupGate-DOS v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)