The Moochers of Middle America

Paul Krugman: “I’ve been reading a recent Rockefeller Institute report on states’ federal ‘balance of payments’ — the difference for each state between what the federal government spends in that state and what it gets back in revenue.”

“The pattern is familiar: Richer states subsidize poorer states. And the reasons are clear: Rich states pay much more per person in federal taxes, while actually getting a bit less in federal spending, because Medicaid and other ‘means-tested’ programs go disproportionately to those with low incomes. But the magnitudes are startling.”

“Take the case of Kentucky. In 2017, the state received $40 billion more from the federal government than it paid in taxes. That’s about one-fifth of the state’s G.D.P.; if Kentucky were a country, we’d say that it was receiving foreign aid on an almost inconceivable scale.”