Daily Kos- Mississippi, the Welfare State

Tue Jun 24, 2014 at 12:45 PM PDT

Mississippi, dependent on federal largess, murders their cash cow today

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Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran will be fired by GOP primary voters today. Among his sins? Talking to black voters.

 

Mississippi is one of those welfare states—states that receive more in federal money than it sends back to Washington in tax receipts. In fact, Mississippi ranks first in receiving federal largess. The money comes in the form of farm subsidies, military spending, anti-poverty aid and retirement programs. As one of (if not THE) nation's poorest states, Mississippi is dependent on the feds for an astonishing 45.84 percent of revenues. Without the feds, Mississippi is a third-world country.

So what better way to improve their lot in life than to fire one of the guys bringing in that sweet, sweet federal dough? All that federal agricultural spending? Well, Sen. Thad Cochran is the ranking Republican on the Senate Agriculture Committee. All that military spending? Cochran is the ranking member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense. And yes, that also means he's on Appropriations, which itself is a direct tap into the federal Treasury.

So how is the state's dominant political party handling this situation? Rather than reward the guy who is keeping their state economically afloat, they're currently in the process of firing him and replacing him with an anti-spending nihilist eager to cut off his state's lifeline.

It gets worse—those same conservatives are eagerly accepting the aid of the Koch brothers in their effort to oust Cochran. Why are the Koch brothers opposed to Cochran? Because he stood in the way of their insurance companies raising flood insurance premiums. So congratulations, Mississippi Republicans, you're helping the Kochs jack up your insurance rates, and punishing the guy who protected you.
There's a reason Mississippi is last in everything, and today is Exhibit A.

Originally posted to kos on Tue Jun 24, 2014 at 12:45 PM PDT.

Also republished by Daily Kos.

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