The Republicans keep insisting that the Obama stimulus plan won’t work. So let’s have a test. A status quo group (South Carolina) vs the rest of the country. A year from now let’s see who has fared better.
Time for the Repubs to step up and put their mouth where are money was going to go (so to speak)
Please share widely!
South Carolina (takes more from the federal government than it contributes. Any Republican official who is so dead set against federal taxes and federal spending should first of all make sure that his/her own state is not taking more from the federal treasury than it contributes.
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p>In fact, Alaska – despite its massive oil revenues, and the checks it sends to its citizens each year instead of collecting state taxes – took $1.84 from the federal government for each $1 it contributed in federal taxes (data, source Tax Foundation and Census bureau). This is even as its Republican elected officials railed against federal taxes and federal spending. I really wish someone had asked Governor Palin about that, and whether she was prepared to end the Lower 48’s subsidies of her state.
I mean if the gov is giving shit away, then take it. Why not? I thot that was what separated us from the animals… take only what you need… Our country is loaded with unequal levels of giving and taking… look at MA. Look at how Local Aid is spewed out to 351 cities and towns… boy I wish it was proportional to how much tax we paid. Bet Worcester, Springfield, Lowell and all the other shithole cities in MA are glad hey get more than they give.
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p>Maybe part of the problem is we fund things which sometimes don’t need funding. I remember hearing last year that Sen Kerry got $1-2 Million for the Worcester airport and they airport didn’t want the money. I love it when I hear about banks not wanting any bailout money. How many of us have strong credit but it doesn’t mean we should go take out as much money as we can and spend it. Government spending doesn’t work that way, it’s free money to anyone who gets it and only a fool would refuse a “freebie”. We should applaud Gov Sanford for having some character and pointing out this Stimulus Bill is a giant freebie for everyone but unfortunately our kids will be paying for this in the future.
The value of whatever scrapings remain of Sanford’s integrity surely don’t equal the money he’ll be getting. Take it Mark — it’s a steal.
If you don’t want the Stimulus Bill, don’t take the money… and the Federal Government won’t make you pay for it!”
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p>Doesn’t that sound fair? I mean after all, IF Begala thinks SC should skip out on the money then why should they pay for it. Let the states that take the money pay for it and the more you take the ore your citizen’s will get taxed.
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p>But pragmatically speaking, if you are going to get taxed like everyone else (well, just us hard working slobs since non workers and bottom feeders will surely be exempt as usual for paying for anything), then of course they should take the money.
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p>I’ll be glad to skip an bailout/stimulus money in return for not having to pay any back.
In 2005, South Carolina received $1.35 in federal spending for every tax dollar it paid. If SC would take JohnD’s deal, we’d immediately save over $10 billion dollars.
http://www.taxfoundation.org/r…
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p>And that’s not counting the $8 billion we’d save if they’d put their money where Governor Sanford’s mouth is and refuse the stimulus dollars.
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p>http://www.charlestonbusiness….
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p>$18 billion dollars. Allocate that money to people who deserve it and want it.
I don’t think the government should be standing on the street corner handing out $100 dollar bills. If I have done everything I could to ensure that the government wasn’t doing so, then I would be a fool to stand around out of principle with nothing while everyone else was getting $100 bills.
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p>Also,
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p>Doesn’t work. States are too inter-connected. You’d only be able to actually test that theory by having 2 identical Americas and having one pass the spendulus and one not. Tossing money up in the air and going HOORAY! helped get us into this mess. The Republicans lost because of that asinine behavior, and whether they are opposing the spendulus for political reasons or not, IMO opinion they are right, so it’s a moot point in my mind.
The criticism is that the government shouldn’t spend this money in this way in the first place. But the government is going to spend the money: the Republican opposition was defeated. Therefore, to make the best of a bad situation, even people who disagree with the basic concept are still well advised (and not being hypocritical) to take the money.
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p>Typical ultra-partisan and sort of silly Begala commentary that really doesn’t add anything constructive to the discussion of a serious problem, in my opinion.
I like Begala, but he’s being moronic here. His argument is the equivalent of “Love the stimulus or leave it.”