Oh geeze, the red state, blue state lie. How many times has that been explained?
None, as far as I've seen - of course, I don't see all your posts - maybe you have and I simply didn't see it. If you can explain why it is that the blue states generally pay out more federal taxes than they receive, and why the red states generally receive more in federal funding than they pay out, please, enlighten me!
And while you're at it, please explain why red states generally:
- have higher divorce rates
- have higher teenage pregnancy rates
- have lower educational attainment rates
- have lower life expectancy rates
- have higher poverty rates
Yes, I can back up each of these. I look forward to your reply.
I know, it's a critical issue to overlook obvious reasons for disparities in who pays out, and who pays in. Such a lame argument.
It is? What, exactly, are the 'obvious reasons'?
Fact, California has structured is tax system to burden high income earners more than any other state. The most recent tax increase that Progressives pushed through placed the highest burden for paying for the government on the rich.
Y'know, California's taxes aren't much higher than here in Washington...yet most of the major businesses here in Washington (Microsoft, Amazon, Boeing, et al) don't seem to be fleeing, and the richest man in the world (Bill Gates) certainly isn't running away from Washington state. Come to think of it, the most recent CEO of Microsoft (Steve Ballmer) just invested 2B in California when he bought the Clippers.
Here is the problem with this approach. The Progressives here have managed to place California at the top of the list with the highest Supplemental Poverty Rate in the nation. The money to pay for all this comes primarily from the rich. So in order to maintain this Progressive society approach, the rich need to stay rich, and get richer.
Please define "supplemental poverty rate"...because before I reply, I want to make sure we're talking about the same thing. I say that because under the 'supplemental poverty rate', California's poverty rate is 23.8%...whereas under the traditional measure of the poverty rate, it's 13.2%. And
regardless of which metric you use, the significant majority of states with the highest poverty rates are RED states.
Unfortunately, the Progressives also want to punish the rich, and do things to reduce this income disparity. So how is a state so very dependent on the rich, going to stay economically viable, if their focus is the punish the rich, and the businesses many of the rich own?
Perhaps the same way that the financial capital of the world - New York City - has remained as such since at least WWII. You see, it's not just California that has high taxes - it's also New York, and there's been scads of rich people in both states for longer than either one of us has been alive. Sure, you might find a few here or there that do leave because of taxes...but most don't. Instead, they stay...
and they continue to MAKE money in both states...because
if the rich didn't continue to make money as they have done so for generations, they wouldn't stay, now would they?
Again, as evidenced by California's economic results, and the massive increase in poverty California Progressives have managed to create, the trajectory is unsustainable. Cities have filed for bankruptcy as a result of these agenda's.
Again, you say California's economy is going to crash and burn...and I say it won't. You and I will be on DP for a some time to come, and here's a prediction: five years from now, CA's economy will still be improving, and you'll still claim it isn't, that it's still about to crash and burn.
As to where the money comes from, I have absolutely no idea what you're trying to infer, and have no real interest in learning what imaginary ideas you have to explain your point on it.
Hey - you're the one who's claiming that the only thing that's holding up CA's economy is "other peoples' money"...whereas in reality,
California receives about 78 cents in federal funding for every dollar it pays out in federal taxes. In fact, if you'll check the same reference, you'll find that almost all red states receive more in federal funding than they pay out in federal taxes...which means that we in blue states are essentially paying to help red state economies stay afloat.