[reed_inthe_wind]

Who published these numbers. The assumptions underlying the conclusion are by necessity complex and arguable. For instance, farm subsidies benefit any one who eats food.

[Question_Assumptions]

Who published these numbers. The assumptions underlying the conclusion are by necessity complex and arguable. For instance, farm subsidies benefit any one who eats food.

I'll try to find you a web site. As for farm subsidies benefitting anyone who eats food, exactly how does paying a farmer not to grow food to keep market prices higher than they'd otherwise be benefit me? How do farm subsidies for tobacco or mohair benefit me, a non-smoker who doesn't have any interest in mohair products? At best, it is redistribution. At worse, it makes food more expensive.

[Question_Assumptions]

Who published these numbers. The assumptions underlying the conclusion are by necessity complex and arguable.

You can start here.

[Snidely Whiplash]

For instance, farm subsidies benefit any one who eats food.

True enough. Other subsidies have benefits as well - roads subsidies benefit anyone who travels; educational subsidies benefit...somebody, I'm sure; Medicare and Medicaid benefit the health-care industry and those who are able to receive medical attention as a result; and tax credits (effectively subsidies) benefit small business owners, parents, and anyone who gets a college education, to name a few.

It's all really a matter of perspective, innit? Or is it?

Snidely

[Question_Assumptions]

Also, all of those wonderful federal parks, federal highways, federal dams, and other big federal projects built throughout the mid-West and West give me very little payback (other than the ability to see nice scenery when I vacation). Factor in the cost of living (those dollars are worth more in New Mexico than they are in New Jersey), the side benefits (relatively cheap hydroelectric power), the lower levels of social problems, and simply the sheer volume of tax dollars the New Jersey sends to DC and you'll be hard pressed to show that New Jersey is reaping benefits comparable to the loss. I know that a lot of Freepers have a preconceived notion that the "blue" states are a net liability but it just isn't so in most cases (with a large exception being DC, itself).