The Myth of Spendthrift California

Three dangerous misconceptions at a tragic time for wildfire victims and their beloved state

California has a reputation that simply isn’t true.

For far too many Americans, it is known as a state that takes too much money and spends too much money — a state whose profligate ways must be bailed out, time and time again, by the rest of the country.

Now, in the wake of the devastating wildfires throughout Southern California, many Americans are hesitant to throw good money after bad.

Here’s Jeanine Pirro on Fox News:

And, you know how to lose billions for the homeless, and all kinds of money for illegals, but you can't manage the forestry and you can't take care -- take something that's predictable. And the question now is whether Americans in other states should be paying the bill for their policy…

We can talk about how much money California should receive and how it can do the most good. That’s a reasonable debate to have. But let’s start the debate with facts.

Here’s some context everyone ought to know.

1. California Isn’t the Highest-Spending State — by Far

In 2023, California’s government spent $10,556 per resident.

That’s half of what the highest-spending state, Alaska, spent. It’s less than what red states like West Virginia, Arkansas, and Kentucky spent.

Nationally, California ranks 16th in state expenditures per capita.

2. Of All States, California Is the Second-Least Dependent on Federal Funding

California receives 14.6% of its state revenue from the federal government. That’s how much other Americans are “paying the bill” for California’s policies, as Jeanine Pirro would put it.

That’s the second-lowest of all states in the union. Only Vermont is less dependent on the federal government.

Every other state receives more of their revenue from the rest of us. Florida gets 18.9% of its revenue from Californians and other Americans living outside the Sunshine State. Texas relies on the largesse of California and the other states for 22.9% of its state revenues. At the top of the list, we’re “paying the bill” for over 30% of the Kentucky, New Mexico, and Montana state tabs.

3. Californians Give a Lot More Than the State Gets

Californians pay $5.03 in federal taxes for every dollar the state receives in federal funds. That’s the 10th-highest ratio in the country.

Most states pay a lot less. Texans only pay $3.52 in federal taxes for every dollar the state gets back from the rest of us. Arizonans only pay $2.26 for every dollar we send to Phoenix. West Virginians pay a mere $1.04 for every dollar of support received.

No one knows how much it will cost to recover from this tragedy, and reasonable people can disagree about the best ways to do it. But if we start from the assumption that California has a history of wasting the rest of America’s money, we risk hurting a lot of innocent people with misleading misconceptions and misinformation.

Californians have spent a lot of money over a lot of years to help their fellow Americans. It would be a terrible injustice to withhold help, at this time of acute crisis, because that history has been forgotten — or worse, distorted.