Why Is Socialism Doing So Darn Well in Deep-Red North Dakota? | Alternet

Why Is Socialism Doing So Darn Well in Deep-Red North Dakota? | Alternet
"North Dakota's thriving state bank makes a mockery of Wall Street's casino banking system -- and that's why financial elites want to crush it."

Blue State Taxpayers Will Pick Up the Tab to Avert Fiscal Cliff

Blue State Taxpayers Will Pick Up the Tab to Avert Fiscal Cliff
"Of course, this dynamic of "red state socialism" by which federal tax dollars generally flow from wealthier Democratic states to less well-off Republican ones is nothing new. Red state spending on education, unemployment insurance and (more than ever) health care has been and will continue to be underwritten by blue state taxpayers."

Can We Help the Would-Be Secessionists Pack?

Can We Help the Would-Be Secessionists Pack?
"The Tea Party folks -- to no one's great surprise -- are not taking their electoral defeat at the hands of a black man lying down. They're threatening to pack up their soccer ball and take it home."

PERRspectives: Blue States Will Rescue America from the Fiscal Cliff

PERRspectives: Blue States Will Rescue America from the Fiscal Cliff
"Of course, this dynamic of "red state socialism" by which federal tax dollars generally flow from wealthier Democratic states to less well-off Republican ones is nothing new. Red state spending on education, unemployment insurance and (more than ever) health care has been and will continue to be underwritten by blue state taxpayers."

In defense of red state socialism

In defense of red state socialism
"But almost as galling for many Democrats is the persistent phenomenon of red state socialism. That is, despite Republican paeans to "small government" and "rugged individualism," red states benefit from a one-way flow of dollars from Washi

ngton, a federal gravy train disproportionately provided by blue state taxpayers. But hypocrisy or no, that is as it should be. Because when it comes to health care, education, public safety, needed infrastructure and so much else, Americans' mutual commitment to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness cannot end at the state line.

To be sure, red state socialism is real. As a 2007 analysis by the Tax Foundation (above) of federal spending per tax dollar received by state shows, the reddest states generally reaped the most green. (As Politifact rightly noted, the rankings are based on 2005 data. The Tax Foundation is planning an updated study.) Eight of the top 10 beneficiaries of federal largesse voted for John McCain for president. Unsurprisingly, all 15 states at the bottom of the list—those whose outflow of tax revenue is funding programs elsewhere in the country—all voted for Barack Obama in 2008. Alaska's number three ranking was particularly ironic, given Gov. Sarah Palin's farewell message warning her state to "be wary of accepting government largesse; it doesn't come free."

But the ironies don't end there. A 2010 map of personal government benefits received versus taxes paid showed secession birthplace South Carolina to be one of the big winners."