INDReporter

Louisiana among most ‘hypocritical' states

by Walter Pierce

The rankings are based on two opposing criteria: federal expenditures per capita and identification with the tea party movement. Louisiana comes in second in The Daily Beast's new list of the most hypocritical states. The rankings are based on two opposing criteria: federal expenditures per capita and identification with the tea party movement. The website references the U.S. Census Bureau to establish the amount of federal spending per resident and the polling firm Rasmussen Reports for the percentage of residents who say they identify with the tea party movement.

According to the website's data from the aforementioned sources, Louisiana, with a population of just under 4.5 million, receives $2,567 in federal funds per person ($11.5 billion total) and 31 percent of the Louisiana populace are sympathetic to the tea party movement. Underscoring Louisiana's second-place rank: Over the last two years the state Legislature has used $3 billion in American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009 funds - otherwise known as President Barack Obama's stimulus - to balance the state budget.

Only 43 states are ranked; the site was unable to find sufficient data on seven states to include them in the rankings. Not surprisingly, in the context of the list, red states rate more hypocritical than blue states, based on the 2008 Electoral College map. In fact, with the exception of New Mexico, which went for Obama in '08, every state in the top 10 voted for Republican John McCain. In descending order, the top 10 are Wyoming, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Mississippi, Kentucky, West Virginia, South Dakota, North Dakota and Utah.

See The Daily Beast's complete ranking of the most hypocritical states here.