I Think This is a Marvelous Idea

It is a little know fact that the "blue" states heavily subsidize the "red" states with federal tax dollars.  

Maybe it's time for the dems to advocate decentralizing government.  Take a look at the Stem Cell research issue in California.  We just decided to spend $3 Billion on research...screw the feds.

As usual, someone else says it better than me:

From Angry Bear:  (from http://angrybear.blogspot.com/)

"I also have a substantive recommendation to the Blue states: Do all that you can to shut off the spigots. Completely. Shut it down. All of it. No more sucking on the government's teat for the Red states. Transform the rhetoric of your Republican brothers into practice: Slash federal spending (is that still a Republican position?). Wipe out the farm subsidies. Eradicate all block grants to the states. End the transfer of thirteen cents out of every Blue State Tax Dollar to the Red states (call it "Real Welfare Reform".) Replace every dollar of reduced federal spending with a dollar of in-state spending.

Let Illinois, New York, Michigan, Wisconsin, Washington, California, and the rest of the Blue States keep their own damn money. Let the Red states keep out the gays, which is apparently their highest priority. Wait ten years and see who comes out ahead. And yes, this is bad policy. But it's clearly great politics. And winning on the political dimension is, sadly, a necessary condition for winning on the policy dimension."

This could be a Democratic revolution that allows those who want to pay for quality of life...can.  And those who put their economic interests at such a low priority....can as well.

•  Agree 100%

  If Bush wants to start cutting govt., start w/ pork given to red states.  They're the big advocates of cutting govt. anyway.  

  by ModerateLiberalCA on Wed Nov 03, 2004 at 11:29:06 AM PDT

  •  enough talk

    who has a list of expenditures?

    for every damn one of them we need one person instate and several in blue states to take the campaign.

    coordinate and lobby each one individually; we'll never win as a single throw.

    corollary: every blue state needs a pac to lobby to end all state commerce with red states.

    this is war now.

    by mikba on Wed Nov 03, 2004 at 12:56:02 PM PDT

    •  Nah

      I don't think we should aim for ending commerce.  I'd settle for amicable divorce.  We can still trade with them, like we would with any other foreign country.  

      We should push federalism, though.  If that means Louisiana can put the 10 Commandments in the classrooms and ban abortion, so be it.  In return, we can allow gays to marry and teach evolution without fear.
      

      by randym77 on Wed Nov 03, 2004 at 01:31:12 PM PDT

•  HOLY SHIT

  This is the first step in a brilliant direction. I'm dead serious, turn their words against them. I'm tired of getting stressed out over a group of people that economically, culturally, and physically contribute NOTHING to this country (God, abrahm lincoln would kick my ass right now.)

  by Rhett on Wed Nov 03, 2004 at 11:29:42 AM PDT

  •  Damn right.

    Let them poison themselves on their own medicine. I'll keep paying my high taxes in NY state, because the state will raise them to compensate for the lack of federal funds. We'll see how that flies in Texas, though. Border security? Sorry, federal funds not available. Take care of it yourself. With no money to do it, they'll privatize security of America's borders and that'll be a disaster. And it will take a Dem to fix it all in Texas. Blue Texas?

    I am now a vehemently federal-tax-cut / states' rights Democrat. Thank you George Bush.

    by saynuk on Wed Nov 03, 2004 at 11:35:10 AM PDT

  •  Echo Chamber

    The left needs to repeat this over and over and over.  

    by ModerateLiberalCA on Wed Nov 03, 2004 at 11:38:30 AM PDT

•  As a Red State Resident

  I can say that I am 100% for this. Might make my life a little more difficult (although probably not really) but I'd love to see it happen.

  by Bob in Atlanta on Wed Nov 03, 2004 at 11:34:13 AM PDT

•  Yep

  I'm fed up too.  If the confederacy wants to be a different country...let them do it economically too.

  by GreyHair on Wed Nov 03, 2004 at 11:34:19 AM PDT

•  Red Welfare States is well known but not talked

  not talked about....

  the Blue states account for 90% of the nations GDP and basically provide welfare for missisippi and wyoming and south carolina etc.....

  You guys in California should start a voter drive saying you want NO MILITARY help and want to be left alone from the federal government...
  Join up with NY , Illinois, Massachusetts, Oregon and Washington.....

  by EdwardsRaysOfSunshine on Wed Nov 03, 2004 at 11:35:07 AM PDT

  •  CA welfare

    Iirc CA loses about $44 billion in red state welfare per year.  Would be nice if we could use that for our budget deficit and not some road project in Alabama.

    by ModerateLiberalCA on Wed Nov 03, 2004 at 11:42:40 AM PDT

    •  HA!

      You think the crooks here actually use that money for roads?!?!?!?

      by smokem2271 on Wed Nov 03, 2004 at 11:59:54 AM PDT

    •  We need to put this before the State Legislature.

      I'm not kidding. Referendum time, folks.  If the inbred bigots in Mississippi and Alabama and other southern Red States want to practice their "conservative" fiscal and moral agenda, let's force them to practice what they preach.

      by princemyshkin on Wed Nov 03, 2004 at 12:33:50 PM PDT

•  Thats why...

  I always keep this handy... (pdf)
  http://www.santoriello.com/states/sr124.pdf

  by santoriello on Wed Nov 03, 2004 at 11:39:12 AM PDT

  •  Your link is dead.

    Perhaps, if you have a copy of the pdf you could make it available somewhere?

    by soonergrunt on Wed Nov 03, 2004 at 09:19:38 PM PDT

•  and how would this be achieved?

  good luck getting this through the GOP-controlled Congress.

  by VirginiaDem on Wed Nov 03, 2004 at 11:48:44 AM PDT

  •  This is

    THEIR policy.  Let em' have it.  No fighting...expose the hypocrisy and let em' stew in it.  What'r they gonna do?

    by GreyHair on Wed Nov 03, 2004 at 11:55:29 AM PDT

•  Fantastic idea, deserves better diary title

  Lord, what a freaking good idea. But it deserves a better diary title; a vague one like yours pulls in the like of me but that's not good enough. As the queen of finding better diary titles, I hereby declare that this one should be titled "Blue states should shut down federal govt".

  Another idea along the same lines: we can ALL shut down the federal government by simply disallowing the withholding of our federal taxes from our paychecks, and socking that money away in an account to pay your taxes when they're due. It's my understanding that this is perfectly legal, but it would have the effect of CRIPPLING the federal governemnt.
  

  A word after a word after a word is power. -- Margaret Atwood

  by tmo on Wed Nov 03, 2004 at 11:56:45 AM PDT

  •  not withholding

    Sadly it is not legal to underwithhold.  You are required to withhold 90% of your tax bill for the year, and if you fail to you can be fined or theoretically jailed. (I did it one year by accident, they didn't fine me because it was about $8, but the IRS guy was pretty firm about the need to withhold correctly)

    by Wyrm2 on Wed Nov 03, 2004 at 12:25:06 PM PDT

    •  taxes

      I believe there's no fine if the difference is $500 or less, or if it's more, but last year it wasn't.  

      It probably would make a noticeable difference if we all adjusted our withholdings so that we didn't get any tax returns, or even owned a small amount on April 15.  

      OTOH, the federal government is already so deeply in debt, they may not even notice more.  

      I like the idea pushing states' rights.  It is a GOP position.  They wouldn't fight it.  It's something that might pass.

      by randym77 on Wed Nov 03, 2004 at 12:44:28 PM PDT

•  Fantastic idea!!

  We need to redefine the democratic party anyway. We are now demonstrably the fiscally responisable party. Repugs want smaller government lets give it to them! This is our chance to become the party of fiscal responsibility and smaller government like the Repugs once claimed to be. They could never accuse us of being for taxing and spending!

  There is one problem though. Politicians win elections by bringing home the pork.

  by shark on Wed Nov 03, 2004 at 12:30:08 PM PDT

  •  We need to change the model

    Have the politicans win by keeping the pork at home.

    We need to find a way to package it so the core Republicans who still believe in states rights will buy into it.

    by witchypooh on Wed Nov 03, 2004 at 01:09:02 PM PDT

•  Blue & Wealthy

  Yes.

  It is time to say "Okay - you don't want welfare?  Fine.  No more welfare for you."

  Burn those yokels financially.

  by TheSnorp on Wed Nov 03, 2004 at 01:32:25 PM PDT

•  State to state embargos

  It truly is unfair that we have to support the states that elect us a president who doesnt support our values. I'm all for an embargo against Texas beef and other such southern products. Remember the "French embargo" that the GOPers had back in March 2003? Go along with the same thing against GOP states. Hey Illinois has a lot of corn if you need some :)

  Don't travel in heavy Republican states or areas and all the like. They want to assault our way of life? We'll withold the dough.

  by karno on Wed Nov 03, 2004 at 03:35:09 PM PDT