the real america

of all the things said in this past election in need of rebuke and rebuttal, sarah palin's misanthropic mis-characterization that there might be some separate class of "real americans" has to rank among the most very deserving.

a real american wouldn't say that. a spouse of a modern-day secessionist might, of course, but a real american wouldn't.

here's a little trivia for you:

just for fun, i pulled the most recent federal tax collection vs. expenditures by state i could find, (2005), and did a quick thumbnail correlation to the outcome of last night's presidential results. (you can find the spending per dollar of tax collected here).

the #1 and #2 welfare states in the country are new mexico and mississippi, each receiving over $2 in federal spending for every $1 they contribute in federal taxes. (one for obama, and one for mccain). the next half dozen freeloaders, alaska, louisiana, north dakota, alabama, south dakota and kentucky, each receiving more than a buck fifty on the dollar, are all mccain states. go figure.

at the other end of the spectrum, in order of their extent of both paying their own way, as well as those of the welfare freeloaders, are new jersey, nevada, connecticut, new hampshire, minnesota, illinios, delaware, california, new york, colorado, massachusetts, wisconsin, washington, michican and oregon. all obama. in fact, you have to go all the way to the 16th state in the list, texas, at .94, before you can find a single mccain majority.

makes sense to me: real americans believe in paying their own way. palin's "real americans" certainly do. obama's real americans do too.