10 Things I liked about the
Election
- The great people I met.
- Hanging with the kids
in Burlington.
- It
brought out the tiger in David
Weinberger.
- Relieved from reading
political blogs.
- Relieved from writing
political blogs.
- November 2, 2004; 8 pm est.
- Remembering how courteous
are middle class, "upstanding" citizens.
- Remembering how
short-sighted are middle class, "upstanding" citizens.
- Remembering what crummy
forecasters Jimmy and me are.
- Discovering the real reason the Republicans are breaking the bank*:
Following the Money
The blue bar graph lists each state's per capita tax burden (left hand scale).
The median lies between Oregon and Kansas, about $5,600 per person. 17 of the
25 states above the median (68%) voted for Kerry, while 23 of the 25 states
below the median (92%) voted for Bush.
The red line is even more interesting. That's the return on investment that
each state enjoys due to federal taxes. Oregon seems to have it just about right
on both scales. A 100% ROI (right hand scale) represents a perfect balance of
paying taxes and receiving benefits. If we think of states as citizens, then
the "good" citizens might be the ones who pay more than their share of taxes
to support their less fortunate fellow citizens. Or, if you're a Republican,
you may think that those state-citizens are naive patsies who don't stand up
for themselves–losers according to the wisdom of the political marketplace,
like someone who lets the tougher kids take their lunch money.
Of the 16 states that pay more taxes than they receive in benefits, 13 voted
for Kerry (81%). Of the 33 states that receive more than they pay in, 27 voted
for Bush (82%).
The data suggest that those pulling more than their share want to do more, while
those doing less than their share want to do even less, and are happy to bankrupt
a system that they apparently don't feel responsible for.
A PDF of the graph is available here.
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These
data (thanks,
John Robb!)are based on calculations
by the staff of the Northeast-Midwest Institute,
based on U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, annual Consolidated
Federal Funds Report, and The Tax Foundation, annual Special Report: Federal
Tax Burdens and Expenditures by State.
The Institute's logo explains their interest in the data. |
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8:13:25 PM 
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