Lots of people here at Dkos have been calling for a lessening of the amount of transfer payments from the Northeast/Midwest/West Coast economies to the southern states. Little did I know that Bush policies have already begun to reduce such transfers. After Minerva pointed me to the website for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, I found a paper called "Passing down the Deficit," which went over Bushco federal policies towards the state government finances. The policies haven't helped any of them, but the cutbacks have fallen most heavily on the poorest states, some of Bush's strongest supporters.
"The states bearing the greatest relative cost of federal policies tend to be among the least affluent states in the country, as measured by per capita income and poverty rate. Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and South Carolina are among the ten states with the lowest average per capita incomes and highest poverty rates in the country. They also are among the states most harmed by federal [read Bush] policies."
The cutbacks to come for next year will most likely hit these same states again. Of course, state government finances are not the same as residents' finances, but probably the same pattern will hold. It will be ironic indeed if this is the time the wealth-producing states slip the bonds of supporting the dependent states.
On the Iraq front: "Violence in six cities in the past two days has left more than 80 people dead." from the Washington Post. These were coordinated attacks. The US forces in the meantime are ringed around Fallujah. Allawi has declared martial law for 60 days.