Thoughts in a Haystack

Colin Powell makes an excellent point towards the end of this press session he had after the announcement of his endorsement of Barack Obama:



To paraphrase: it is ridiculous to call Obama a "socialist" because he wants to look at and adjust the distribution of the tax burden in the US. All taxes are a redistribution of wealth -- usually back to the taxpayers in the form of roads and airports and other infrastructure and in the form of services, such as police and fire departments, and in the form of national defense. Taxes are the price we pay to enjoy the benefits of being Americans.

But if tax redistribution is a bad thing, as McCain and Palin say, there is one thing I want to know. I live in New York, which only gets back in Federal spending $.79 for every $1.00 we New Yorkers pay in Federal taxes, while Arizonans, like McCain, get back $1.19 for every $1.00 they pay and Alaskans, like Palin, get back a whopping $1.84 for every $1.00 they pay.

So what I want to know is when are those socialists gonna give me my money back?
______________________________

P.S. By my count, 27 of the 32 socialist states -- those that get to "share the wealth" of the states that pay more in Federal taxes then they get back -- voted Republican in 2004.