I say cut off the Federal lifeline to the southern MAGA states who continue to disobey the SCOTUS and other states' sovereignty.

[Stealers Wheel]

You're missing both the bigger point about this used for bad policies, and the specific ones. Drinking age and speed limits are 'up to the states' also. That's the whole point here is the federal government pressuring states on policies that are up to them.

And when did this start? Was it back when the president called up the National Guard to protect children of color as they integrated schools in the South as per SCOTUS?

States' rights are all good and fine, but those rights do not extend to ignoring SCOTUS.

When SCOTUS rules, it is no longer up to the states to do as they wish. These must comply with SCOTUS. Otherwise there is a price to be paid.

 

[Hypothetical]

Ok so explain why most of the states who are the most dependent on federal tax dollars are red states? Why can't red states support themselves?

The reason for that is because they have lowered their state taxes too much to the point that they don't have the revenue to support and maintain their states. So they depend on the blue states to support them. They refuse to increase their minimum wage so people can't support themselves and are on public assistance.

They can raise their state taxes to support themselves but they refuse to do so. They are the biggest deadbeats in our nation. They can raise their minimum wage so people can support themselves and be a contributing member of our society instead of a deadbeat leach on the blue states.

Most & Least Federally Dependent States in 2025

Most & Least Federally Dependent States in 2025

wallethub.com

We need a law that prohibits any state from taking more federal dollars than they contribute. If a state needs more money than they contribute, that money is in the form of a loan with very strict conditions for repayment. If a state has to do that more than once, the government should step in to fix the problem. Put the red state on a proper budget with proper tax and wage increases to support themselves and pay back the money they borrowed.

That's called supporting yourself or not being a deadbeat.

that chart shows my reasoning exactly.. the 1st 4 are states with depressed economies, due to either being niche employment states, or not having a lot of intrinsic value, I'm afraid (beauty does not count).

the next 2 are wide open low population states.

then it kind of falls off to a median, with states like nj.. (NJ? wtf? maybe lower costs with proximity to higher paying jobs in NY? ) corrupting the scale.

wait... NJ.. high local taxes.. got it.

 

[Liberal7360]

that chart shows my reasoning exactly.. the 1st 4 are states with depressed economies, due to either being niche employment states, or not having a lot of intrinsic value, I'm afraid (beauty does not count).

the next 2 are wide open low population states.

then it kind of falls off to a median, with states like nj.. (NJ? wtf? maybe lower costs with proximity to higher paying jobs in NY? ) corrupting the scale.

wait... NJ.. high local taxes.. got it.

The two states that take the least from the federal government have higher state taxes. They also properly tax the rich and business in their states.

One of them, Washington doesn't have a state income tax. They do have a B&O tax on revenues, not profits. No business can deduct down to zero to not pay taxes. Every penny that is brought into the business is taxed. Whether the business makes a profit or not. So business in Washington pays their fair share of taxes to support the state. We don't allow business to be deadbeats here. They do have a sales tax. Along with other taxes that support the state.

The states that are most dependent on the federal government don't properly tax their population, specifically the rich and business.

There is a reason why those states don't have a very large population. People don't want to live there. For various reasons. Mostly because living conditions and standard of living in those states is terrible. Jobs don't pay well and the education system sucks. Some are polluted garbage pits and most are run down and dirty. I drove through many red states in 2021 and saw it for myself. I finally understood why people in rural areas are ticked off.

Unlike my blue state, red states take taxes from the rural areas and spends the money in the urban areas leaving the rural areas to run down and fall apart. People leave because there is no opportunities. I lost count of all the ghost towns I drove through in red states. I don't blame people in the rural areas for being so angry. However I do blame them for the situation they are in. They elected the local politicians who took their money and spent it in the urban areas allowing the rural areas to fall apart.

It's not like that in my blue state. Our rural areas here have grown. We didn't take their money and spend it on the urban areas. In fact, it's the opposite. Our urban areas support the rural areas.

It's a never ending circle with the red states. They have caused their own problems.

Meanwhile, they are the biggest deadbeats in the nation. If they don't have a lot of people, then they should properly tax those who do live there. If they didn't diversify business in their state, that's their own fault. Only stupid people would depend on one or two industries to employ and support the state.

My state made that mistake in the 60s when republicans controlled my state. There was even a billboard on the interstate in the largest city in my state that read Will The Last Person To Leave Turn The Lights Out.

Since then we have worked to change the state. We threw out the republicans and elected democrats. Those democrats brought business like Nintendo and other business to the state. We created an environment that people want to live here. Business wants to be here. It's easy to start a business here. Powerhouse businesses like Microsoft, Amazon and Boeing started here and have huge sprawling facilities here that employ thousands of people who pay taxes. So now, we have a wide variety of business here. People are paid good living wages and we have a much higher standard of living. It's why we are so successful compared to red states.

We support ourselves and aren't deadbeats that leach off the rest of the states.

What is that saying republicans keep saying?

There are makers and takers. The blue states are the makers. The red states are the takers.

No amount of excuses will justify it. If they don't have many people then raise the taxes on those who are there. If they only have one or two industries, do what it takes to attract business to your state. Stop being so lazy. Do the work like my state did.

Here's a clue, low taxes and few regulations aren't enough to attract business and people to the state.

It's been proven over and over again yet the red states are too lazy to do the work and would prefer to leach off the blue states. They are the biggest deadbeats in our nation.

 

[Hypothetical]

The two states that take the least from the federal government have higher state taxes. They also properly tax the rich and business in their states.

One of them, Washington doesn't have a state income tax. They do have a B&O tax on revenues, not profits. No business can deduct down to zero to not pay taxes. Every penny that is brought into the business is taxed. Whether the business makes a profit or not. So business in Washington pays their fair share of taxes to support the state. We don't allow business to be deadbeats here. They do have a sales tax. Along with other taxes that support the state.

The states that are most dependent on the federal government don't properly tax their population, specifically the rich and business.

There is a reason why those states don't have a very large population. People don't want to live there. For various reasons. Mostly because living conditions and standard of living in those states is terrible. Jobs don't pay well and the education system sucks. Some are polluted garbage pits and most are run down and dirty. I drove through many red states in 2021 and saw it for myself. I finally understood why people in rural areas are ticked off.

Unlike my blue state, red states take taxes from the rural areas and spends the money in the urban areas leaving the rural areas to run down and fall apart. People leave because there is no opportunities. I lost count of all the ghost towns I drove through in red states. I don't blame people in the rural areas for being so angry. However I do blame them for the situation they are in. They elected the local politicians who took their money and spent it in the urban areas allowing the rural areas to fall apart.

It's not like that in my blue state. Our rural areas here have grown. We didn't take their money and spend it on the urban areas. In fact, it's the opposite. Our urban areas support the rural areas.

It's a never ending circle with the red states. They have caused their own problems.

Meanwhile, they are the biggest deadbeats in the nation. If they don't have a lot of people, then they should properly tax those who do live there. If they didn't diversify business in their state, that's their own fault. Only stupid people would depend on one or two industries to employ and support the state.

My state made that mistake in the 60s when republicans controlled my state. There was even a billboard on the interstate in the largest city in my state that read Will The Last Person To Leave Turn The Lights Out.

Since then we have worked to change the state. We threw out the republicans and elected democrats. Those democrats brought business like Nintendo and other business to the state. We created an environment that people want to live here. Business wants to be here. It's easy to start a business here. Powerhouse businesses like Microsoft, Amazon and Boeing started here and have huge sprawling facilities here that employ thousands of people who pay taxes. So now, we have a wide variety of business here. People are paid good living wages and we have a much higher standard of living. It's why we are so successful compared to red states.

We support ourselves and aren't deadbeats that leach off the rest of the states.

What is that saying republicans keep saying?

There are makers and takers. The blue states are the makers. The red states are the takers.

No amount of excuses will justify it. If they don't have many people then raise the taxes on those who are there. If they only have one or two industries, do what it takes to attract business to your state. Stop being so lazy. Do the work like my state did.

Here's a clue, low taxes and few regulations aren't enough to attract business and people to the state.

It's been proven over and over again yet the red states are too lazy to do the work and would prefer to leach off the blue states. They are the biggest deadbeats in our nation.

not every state has the same standard of living, nor can that be enforced without mass rioting... not every state can have an economy like CA or NY.


everyone in SC cannot make as much as a NY city trashman, which is closer to minimum wage for that area, thus quite a bit of the discrepancy... with the opportunity of making more money and thus claiming a MUCH higher tax base in those areas, comes the burgeoning need to help out states that cannot achieve that , so that when you go out of state on a vacation, every place you travel through has good roads, and such. . as a progressive, you should be all for that.

 

[Craig234]

And when did this start? Was it back when the president called up the National Guard to protect children of color as they integrated schools in the South as per SCOTUS?

No. That was a policy of federal law and federal courts and enforcing the law against a state that was violating it. That's different than using federal funding to extort policy changes from states over policies that are state choices.

When SCOTUS rules, it is no longer up to the states to do as they wish. These must comply with SCOTUS. Otherwise there is a price to be paid.

Correct. This topic of federal funding for drinking age and speed limits isn't about a SCOTUS ruling, it's about the federal government trying to twist arms of states on policies the federal government doesn't have power over. JFK didn't cut off funding to get compliance with the court order, he sent federal marshals, he nationalized the national guard.