The Daily Brew provides another perspective on the myth of the self-reliant rugged individualistic small government heartland (where Andy Sullivan dreams of visiting, but never bothers to go...):
Some states pay more in federal income taxes than is spent by the federal government in those states. Let's call them "Producer States." Other states take in more federal dollars than they pay in federal income taxes. Let's call them "Welfare States." Despite their repeated rhetoric about a "small federal government," the GOP controlled House of Representatives and the White House are currently planning a massive spending spree, proposing to spend more money than any government in history, much of it borrowed from future generations. How did we get this unhappy state of affairs? A quick look at how the Producer States and the Welfare States voted in the last Presidential election might give us a clue.
Electoral votes from Producer States for Gore: 218
Electoral votes from Welfare States for Gore: 49
Total 267
Among Producer States: Gore wins, 218 to 125
Electoral votes from Welfare States for Bush: 146
Electoral votes from Producer States for Bush: 125
Total 271
Among Welfare States: Bush wins, 146 to 49
