The next round of COVID-19 bailout package negotiations is upon us. States like Illinois want monies to not only handle virus-related matters… but also for other matters. Funding for state Government employee pensions is essentially gone. So now the virus money will be used to fund programs that have been broke for years.
Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell expressed concern over using virus money to bailout broken states’ budgets. McConnell says that bankruptcy may be the better option. Which makes sense, considering the amount of debt the United States is already in and continues to sink further into with every round of virus bailout. Texas Senator Ted Cruz and President Donald Trump have been vocal critics of virus money going to bail out “poorly run” states like Illinois and New York.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo fired back at McConnell’s comments. Cuomo said that New York gives billions more to the Federal Government than they get back. In Cuomo’s live video during the virus press briefing, a graphic read “New York bails you out every year.” Cuomo sent direct shots at Florida and Kentucky saying that they take more than they give from the Federal Government.
Cuomo is correct. Kentucky does take more money from the Federal Government than they give in taxes. But that is not the full story. And it’s quite disingenuous of him to say so. Kentucky is not simply a beggar state receiving Government monies for nothing. They have a lot of Government contract work.
The same can be said for Virginia. Virginia is the number one state in the nation in terms of receiving Government money. This can be explained very easily. Virginia has the largest Naval Base in the world, a shipbuilding apparatus that supplies nuclear aircraft carriers for the entire nation, and nearly half of the population that either work in the military or Government.
A state receiving a large portion of their income from Government-related work is not the same as relying on Government money to do nothing.
So, no, Chris Cuomo … New York and other poorly run blue states do not “bailout” states like Kentucky. New York simply pays more federal income tax due to all of the large companies in the tri-state area that pay high salaries and thus… high income taxes.
Money from the virus bailout package should only go towards virus relief. And hopefully, there are no more bailouts. Enough is enough. The debt clock is moving faster than ever and is not going back down any time soon.
