Red States, Blue States – Who Gets The Green
Take a look at the chart below. The Commonwealth Fund has released its 2009 state health care scorecard.
Notice anything interesting. A whole lot of Red States (you know, the ones threatening to opt out of the Public Option) don’t score so well on health care.
Since I’m in a charty mood, let’s look at another one…
Hmm… more interesting figures. Perhaps we shouldn’t be so quick to dismiss the secessionist talk since it appears that Red States need Blue States more than Blue States need them. And I can’t help but think, if this data were reversed, how quickly Republicans/Conservatives would label Blue States Welfare States.
Crooks and Liars breaks it all done. (Go on, you lazy clickers! Clink on the link and read the whole thing.)
My favorite line, and one worth considering, given all the chest-thumping when it comes to opting out of the Public Option, is this…
Will they put blue state money where their red state mouths are?
Tags: Health Care Reform
a quick look at the lower table shows some very low-population states in that top ten list. It isn’t too surprising that these are high cost per capita. This is a serious factor that should not be ignored.
Similarly, comparing the number of state employees per capita in DE versus in Rhode Island (a comparison offered by state Republicans during the budget talks this June) is an apples:oranges comparison.
Lower population density leads to higher cost to deliver services.
Life is grey, not black and white (despite MSM’s (and WNJ’s) preference for black & white issues).
The lower table can be seen as the Socialism Index. Who gets the greatest number of tax dollars back from DC per dollar they send to DC. And isn’t interesting that this list is dominated by red states. Unlike PBaumbach, I don’t think that this is reflective of local costs — this is reflective of two things: the effectiveness of Congressional delegations to nab federal projects and earmarks and populations that are poorer, sicker and older than other states.
And the politicians from these states are quick to point out that the Democratic plan is to tax the rich to give to the people that “don’t pay any taxes at all.” I saw this li[n]e trotted out this morning by Orrin Hatch on Morning Joe.
Apparently, the tax money is going to the Republican-dominated states.
Breaking News: Senator Joe Lieberman has announced that he will join the GOP in filibustering the Reid-pushed Health Care Bill.