May 1st 2020

By Markos Moulitsas

Daily Kos

Nine of the top 10 states in new unemployment claims last week were red states. 

Seven of the top 10 states in unemployment claims since the crisis began are red states. 

Guess who’s “bailing out” those people? And that’s fine! Problem is, generosity for those affected by the crisis is currently a one-way street, with Republicans still refusing to embrace the need to help all states and municipalities affected by the pandemic.

Wallet Hub took a look at unemployment insurance claims in all 50 states and helpfully ranked them for us. Here are the top 10 from last week.

Oh Kentucky, there you are again. While your asshole senator, Mitch McConnell, rails against “blue state bailouts,” you prove time and time again that without a federal government funded by the blue states, you wouldn’t last a week. 

None of these states would, not without California, Colorado, Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York footing the bill. In fact, the only red donor state is Texas, and even that's likely coming to an end with the collapse of the U.S. (and global) oil market. 

At the bottom of the list of job losses? New Jersey, the biggest donor state per capita in the country. So not only does New Jersey get to bail out Red America on an annual basis—they’ll be bailing out regular unemployed Americans now, too. And no one would even think about complaining, except that Republicans won’t help out the state given the expenses of dealing with the pandemic. 

If those blue states could keep all their money, that would work too. How about it, McConnell? Can New York and New Jersey get back the money you took to shovel into your state to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars over the last several years? It would solve so many problems! 

Jersey and New York would have the money they’d need to plug budget gaps, and red states wouldn’t have to suffer the pain of having to help someone else out every once in a million years. 

But if that won’t work because your state of Kentucky wouldn’t last a week without the cash it gets from the federal government and all those blue states funding it, then how about you shut the fuck up and fund a state and municipal aid package?

And then shut the fuck up about the deficit, at least until you erase Kentucky’s federal surplus.

And don’t think I’m not looking at you, Florida, what with you lying about your COVID-19 losses in order to hide the true extent of Trump’s incompetence. And we have to hear shit like this:

No more Florida bailouts during hurricanes. Sound fair? And how about you pay for your unemployed, if it’s such a burden to have to help out people in other states?

Blue states bail out red states daily. Blue state taxpayers bail out red state residents daily. It’s what we do. 

But when it’s time to provide the rare burst of aid to those blue states and taxpayers, Republicans lose their shit. It’s time to reassess all of that. 

To show that I’m not cherrypicking the top 10 states on the list, Wallet Hub averages out state rankings, and it turns out it is (of course) Red America that is suffering the worst losses.

I’m saying it again. Red America wouldn’t survive a week without Blue America’s daily bailouts. 

Posted with permission