Democrats in Congress are a runaway train with a drunken conductor in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. No matter how much evidence comes in that the economy doesn’t need $1.9 trillion more in debt spending, the Pelosi locomotive keeps falling down the track toward the financial cliff. Generations will have to pay for the ride.
One of the worst features of this bill is the “blue state rescue.” Twenty-one Republican governors and one Democrat are protesting a “biased” formula for allocating about $400 billion to states. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster complained that the bill “punishes” states that did the right thing by keeping their economies and businesses open during the pandemic.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the bill would “plunder” red states to pay Democratic governors who have shut down their economies.
DeSantis has good reason to complain. Florida has a slightly larger population than New York, but New York receives $2,799 per person, which is twice the $1,355 per person that Florida receives. In other words: Floridians are paying for the incompetence of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. This is exactly what happens because the main factor that determines how much money each country receives is not its population, but how high its unemployment rate has risen.
The three states that will receive the largest share of the money are New York, California and New Jersey. These are three of the most liberal states with Democratic governors. This is not a coincidence.
Blue Pennsylvania gets more per person than red Ohio. Blue Massachusetts and red Tennessee are about the same size, but somehow Massachusetts receives $1.5 billion more in handouts. Connecticut receives twice as much aid funding as Utah, even though its population is about the same.
A joint statement from the governors reads: “A state’s ability to keep businesses open and employed should not be a penalizing factor in the allocation of funds. “If Congress is going to provide aid to the states, it should be on an equitable population basis.”
But that’s not the case. The way Congress allocates money is like giving the highest-performing students A’s and the lowest-performing students A’s. Perhaps this is what the left means by “equality.” The last shall be first.
Most red states have already balanced their budgets. So how will Republican governors utilize their free money?
Here’s a better idea: Instead of wasting money on more bureaucratic spending and risking inflating a financial bubble in state budgets in the coming years, utilize every penny of those funds to finance tax reform and relief. Eight states have no state income tax. These states are Alaska, Nevada, South Dakota, Washington, Florida, Wyoming, Tennessee and Texas.
Financial aid for the blue state would be harsh justice. If Democrats take money from red states, Republican governors should make their states income tax free havens and steal from blue states’ families and businesses. States with no income taxes create twice as many jobs as blue, high-tax states.
If you think California, Illinois, New Jersey and New York are already melting away, wait until they have to compete with southern regions of the country and mountain states that have no income taxes.
Will the last person in New York turn off the lights?
