R.I. receives poor return on federal tax dollars

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. – Thirty states and the District of Columbia received more money from the federal government in fiscal 2005 than their residents paid in U.S. taxes, while 20 states received less than they paid, the National Priorities Project found in an analysis of recent federal data.
Nationally, because of federal borrowing, about $1.01 came back for each dollar paid, the NPP found. Rhode Island ranked 40th and Massachusetts 39th, with each receiving 87 cents in federal aid for each dollar paid, while Connecticut ranked 48th with 67 cents per dollar.
Military outlays totaled about $495.3 billion of the $2.5 trillion the federal government spent in fiscal 2005. But only $390.9 billion or 78.9 percent of that military spending can be traced back to the U.S. states and territories. •