re: #393 engineer dog

you seem very interested in state finances. could you tell me whether ny state ran a deficit or profit in its state budget last year? how many states in the union were in the black in the past couple of years? since california continues to pay more into the federal treasury than it gets back in benefits, how did that compare tp the money they feds gave us in stimulus that was used to help with the state budget shortfall? i also heard that california was not the only state to recieve such help - did ny also get help with any budget shortfalls from the federal government? how about other states?

Virtually EVERY state pays in more to the federal government than it gets back in benefits. It’s no accident that the batch of counties in Maryland and Virginia nearest DC are the richest in the nation. And then there’s legitimate national expenses that don’t show up as benefits on any ledger book. Money spent for fuel in Afghanistan, for instance. It’s collected in tax revenue somewhere somehow, and then it’s spent. It’s gone.

The notion that if California comes out in the red on that score, then some other large states must be running a profit, forgets that the federal government has actual expenses. It’s not just a big ATM machine where some put in and others take out.

The Federal government ought not be helping states out with their budget shortfalls. That’s just making chumps of states that cut to the bone and scrape through. If, say, Nebraska does that, it doesn’t mean that Nebraska is rich and California is poor and Nebraska should send money to California. It means that Nebraska, impoverished but self reliant, gets taken to the cleaners by states that have enough votes in Congress to swing appropriations their way, states that find it easier to tap into the pipeline of federal revenue than to pay their own way.

As to California being so advanced and all, here’s the NAEP. state by state comparisonsTaking, say, 8th grade mathematics, we read that California public school students fall into the categories “below basic, basic, proficient, advanced” in the proportions 41, 36, 18, 5 for 2009. For the nation as a whole, it’s 29, 39, 25, 7. Nothing to brag about, but better than California.

OK, that’s not fair, California has a large immigrant population. Let’s compare with Texas. Same demographics, more or less. Backward, redneck state, education system in the crapper. Wow, this is going to be a smackdown.

TX 22, 41, 28, 8.

Huh? Laker must be lying. No way.

Read it yourself, then.

California has potential. It has a great history. And it’s in real trouble and sinking. Misguided policies can only be pursued for so long before they yield bitter fruit.

One of those misguided policies is to count on bailouts from other, richer states. There may be states whose public finances aren’t such a mess, but the people of those states aren’t living high.