Alabama, 10th Top ‘Taker’ State, Is Most Conservative, According to New Poll

A new poll from Gallup found that more Alabamians think of themselves as “conservative” than residents of any other state. But the state may rank as first in hypocrisy, since it is also the tenth biggest recipient of federal spending among the 50 states, versus its tax receipts. (The District of Columbia was the top recipient, but it is not a state.)

Yes, this tea party/neo-Confederate hotbed is also the 10th largest “taker” state. Here’s a break-out of the socialist largess that jack-booted bureaucrats from the federal government shove down Alabama’s throat:


Total federal spending in Alabama — the big picture that includes salaries, contracts, Social Security, Medicare and hundreds of other direct payments to individuals and institutions — averaged $11,819 per capita, above the national average of $10,459. The federal government sent almost $56.5 billion to the state, which was about evenly divided among four broad categories: defense, healthcare, Social Security and all other agencies combined.

Ten years ago, the spending in Alabama was about $29.2 billion, or about $6,570 per person. Back then the national average was $5,739 per capita.

The state motto of Alabama is “Thank God for Mississippi,” which is not so apt here because the poll found that Mississippians ranked third in the Gallup poll among self-described conservative state residents — North Dakota and Wyoming were tied for second — and yet Mississippi is the ninth biggest taker among the states. That makes Alabama hands-down the most hypocritical state in the Union.

If Alabamians really were fiscal conservatives, they would live within their means and refuse to accept every dime of federal spending that exceeds what their residents pay in federal taxes.

http://www.pensitoreview.com/2013/02/01/alabama-10th-biggest-taker-state-is-most-conservative/