The long, long, arm of Uncle Sam

“The government is good at one thing. It knows how to break your legs, and then hand you a crutch and say, ‘See if it weren’t for the government, you wouldn’t be able to walk.” –Harry Browne

It’s always good to remember one basic fact of economics. That fact is that government does not produce anything. It doesn’t manufacture widgets or any kind of product; it can only fund itself by taking from those who have already made a profit. Accordingly, the chart below is subject to being misinterpreted as Washington financing a percentage of each state’s budget. The reality is that without first taking money from successful individuals and business, there would be no federal subsidiary to the states. Although some of those running for national office would have you believe otherwise, government can’t exist without profits generated by its citizens.

With that said, it’s still interesting to see which states receive the largest percentage of their budget from federal funds. The largest recipients are more brightly colored. The numbers may surprise you.

We’re offering a prize to the first 3 readers who can point out, logically, why some of the west coast states don’t rank higher on the chart.

[Editor’s Hint] – The answer is found in the denominator of the fraction used to calculate the percentages.

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