Is it that liberal state California that loves to spend so much? Maybe it’s Illinois, with all it’s scandalous politics. Oh no, it’s that red state to the north the deficit hating former Governor Sarah Palin recently quit from, Alaska. Okay, I won’t be political here, but I would like to hear Ms. Palin’s thoughts on the fact that Alaska receives more than $20k per person per year in federal money when the national average is less than half of that.
For the record, I’m no fan of the deficit either.
Virginia came after Alaska, no doubt due to it’s location to DC and having lots of federal jobs. Maryland wasn’t too far behind them. But DC trumps even Alaska, thanks to all the federal jobs, with $83k in spending per person. Most of the highest paying government jobs are in DC, so this makes sense.
Results are of course skewed since they’re represented in terms of the population. Rest assured, California does get more money, but they have more people too. Another way to read these results is that states above the average (like Alaska, Virginia, and Maryland) benefit from a redistribution of income from the other states.
Read: States That Received the Most Federal Funds
 By The Weakonomist |
The Weakonomist is the founder of Weakonomics. Clicking the picture of the puppy will tell you more about him. If you like what you're reading consider subscribing to the blog, following him on Twitter, and checking out the related posts below. Please consider a donation if you really enjoy Weakonomics. Also keep in mind that nothing I say can be construed as financial advice. |
