Agreed. I’ve also heard that southern states receive more than they contribute. Yet I suspect that calculation includes the elderly retiree (who can no longer afford living in blue America) benefits for SS and Medicare, and military payments for the very large installations strewn across the south.
Here in NJ (which has many of the same problems as CA) many of our retirees leave, but we also import many Third Worlders to compensate for the many younger Americans leaving. Much of their expenses MUST be covered by federal aid (SNAP, Section 8, etc.).