HOW TO SECEDE IN POLITICS

THE 

FEDERATED 

STATES OF 

AMERICA

In a fascinating New Yorker article of May 4, 2009,  

So Long Pardner, writer Hendrik Hertzberg gave reality to Gov. Rick Perry's suggestion that Texas might end its association with the United States of America and strike out on its own.

Hertzberg called the potential affiliation of Texas and, "any other parts of the old Confederacy that might wish to accompany it - the Federated States ("Confederate"being a word that remains a little too provocative)." 

So Long Pardner is a must-read article,humorous and scary.

Perhaps Gov. Perry's April 15 "tea party" speech was prompted by prior legislative action in two other states, Georgia and Alaska.

On April 1, 2009, the Georgia State Senate passed Resolution 632 (SR632)[status “Affirming states’ rights based on Jeffersonian principles.” The vote was a resounding 43-1, with 12 not voting or excused.

On April 6, 2009, the Alaska House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed House Joint Resolution 27 [HJR27][status page] which “claims sovereignty for the state under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government by the Constitution of the United States” The final vote was 37-0, with 3 not voting.

If that piqued your interest you will enjoy these news items. Somewhere in this same time frame the South Dakota house passed a similar resolution, 51-18, and an Oklahoma version passed that state’s house, 83-13, and its state senate, 25-17. Oklahoma’s Democratic governor, Brad Henry, vetoed it, noting dryly in his veto message that it “does not serve the state or its citizens in any positive manner.”

Now for the fun part. From Hertzerg's article, "Although Texas itself has been a net contributor to the Treasury—it gets back ninety-four cents for each dollar it sends to Washington—nearly all the other potential F.S. states, especially the ones whose politicians complain most loudly about the federal jackboot, are on the dole. (South Carolina, for example, receives $1.35 on the dollar, as compared with Illinois’s seventy-five cents.)"

These figures came from The Tax Foundation, a non-profit organization that explains these  numbers as, "Federal Taxes Paid vs. Federal Spending Received by State, 1981-2005."

Further, The Tax Foundation explains, "States send federal taxes to Washington and receive federal spending in return. However, some states benefit more from federal taxing and spending policies than others. Some "beneficiary" states receive a positive return from Uncle Sam, making other states "donors" who pick up the tab. The most important factor determining whether a state is a net beneficiary is per capita income. States with wealthier residents pay higher federal taxes per capita thanks to the progressive structure of the income tax. Other factors include whether states have powerful Members of Congress, the number of federal employees present in a state, and the number of residents receiving Social Security, Medicare and other federal entitlements."

I was concerned that the 2005 figures would surely have changed during this calamitous calendar year so I called William Ahern, Communications Director of The Tax Foundation for help.

His answer: "(In short, we haven't updated the study.)"

 

"The annual project got derailed when the Census went almost 3 years without publishing the Consolidated Federal Funds Report (our source for spending by state). Now they've made up the time with rapid-fire publication of 2 issues and a third to come out shortly. But in the meantime, the economist here who had taken ownership of that project took a job at PriceWaterhouse, and the remaining staff is preoccupied with other projects. However, because those ratios change at a glacial pace, essentially reflecting demographic changes on the spending side, and slowly rising progressivity on the tax side, the '05 data are probably correct for fiscal 08 within a few cents."

10 Biggest Receivers (I added 5 more)

1. New Mexico $2.03

2. Mississippi $2.02

3. Alaska $1.84

4. Louisiana $1.78

5. West Virginia $1.76

6. North Dakota $1.68

7. Alabama $1.66

8. South Dakota $1.53

9. Kentucky $1.51

10. Virginia $1.51

15.Oklahoma $1.36

16. South Carolina $1.35

31. Ohio $1.05

31. Florida $1.04

34. Georgia $1.02

10 Biggest Donators

1. New Jersey $0.61

2. Nevada $0.65

3. Connecticut $0.69

4. New Hampshire $0.71

5. Minnesota $0.72

6. Illinois $0.75

7. Delaware $0.77

8. California $0.78

9. New York $0.79

10. Colorado $0.81