WDDDDT?: Cancel The Payment/ Sanctuary Cities

   Over the many years of doing my home budget as well as paying my taxes I learned a few things about interest rates, the length of loans/investments, and most importantly, what goes out (expenditures) can not mathematically exceed what comes in (income). One simple example would be: If you have a hundred dollars, Euros, pesos, or whatever, then you can not spend 150 of that currency. Well, actually you can (credit) but you will be screwed when the note is due (interest). Hence, our federal budget problems.

   During the first stages of DOGE, remember the days of Elon Musk playing nice-nice with the returning resident of The White House, Elon promised to stream line the “out of control” government spending, to search out and remove any “double dipping”, and to expose the many excesses in the US budget. He did so with a sense of great anguish arising from the work forces which would be affected, furloughed or out and out fired.

   At first, angry about how he was doing it, a “rip and run approach”, I then looked for any positive(s) to what he/they were suggesting. My ideal would be to develop a zero based budget. That is, a budget where one starts with nothing, zero as a basis, then lists the(mandatory) non-discretionary spending items. Next, you determine what is actually needed (equipment, salaries, pensions, personnel, supplies, materials, etc) in developing what would be the “bottom line” expenditures. Using that figure DOGE experts would determine the “income”, that is the factual expected (not projected) monies coming in such as tariffs, taxes (local, state, federal), etc. To that end, divide that total number to see how much we pay as a citizen, state, local government, et. Al. But alas, this will never happen. 

   Despite what DOGE originally attempted to do, the governmental costs continue to rise while the Trump administration persists to cut away, mostly affecting areas which need the funding. This administration, according to the way I look at it and it may be up to others objections, is currently targeting states which are labeled “blue states”, those states where voters are traditionally Democrats.

   News item: January 29, 2026: The Trump Administration, specifically targeting sanctuary cities and states threatens to withhold funding to 14 Democratic states and Washington, D.C. in an attempt “to reduce the improper and fraudulent use of these funds” which impede his immigration policies. Hmmmm. To that suggestion of “withholding” from those states I offer an alternative. Let those states stop feeding the coffers of the Federal government in the exact amount which is being withheld. Nothing gained, nothing lost.

   Let’s compare and contrast just two states, very large populous states, one “red”, Virginia and one “blue”, California. Californians paid about $275.6 billion more to the federal government than they received, let’s repeat that “more than they received”… while Virginians received about $89.0 billion more than they paid. Again, “more than they paid”…Whew…So in actuality California and New York State along with others are subsidizing the “comforts” afforded to states aka the “getters” or “recipient” states that receive MORE than they offer. Seven of the ten (10) “getters” states are “red”.Basically, states with residents whom are angry at the subsidies our government is offering to “others”.

   In FY (fiscal year) 2024, the federal government collected around $5.07 trillion from states and their residents through taxes on individuals and businesses. The federal government then redistributed about $4.87 trillion back to states and residents. Of the $5.07 T,California (15.9%), Texas (8.2%), New York(7.6%), and Florida(6.4%), the four most populous states contributed 38% of the total, averaging about $15,000 per resident.In terms of net contributions, Nineteen (19) states sent more to the federal government than they received in 2024.

   Some less-populated states paid more than the $15,000 per. Massachusetts sent $21,933 per person to the federal government. Nebraska $21,922, Minnesota with $21,106 and Washington, DC with a high concentration of high-income earners sent a whopping $64,427 per resident. NOTE: Despite paying the highest federal taxes per capita, DC residents do not have voting representation in Congress, “taxation without representation”.

   The states that contributed the least revenue per person; West Virginia ($4,912), Mississippi ($5,161), and New Mexico ($6,033).

   The US national debt as of January 2026 is over $38.43 TRILLION, roughly $2.25 Trillion over the preceding year. Debt is not new to the US economy. The U.S. has carried debt since it was founded. According to Congressman David Schweikert's Daily Debt Monitor, the total national debt (12/17/25) has grown by $69,433.37 PER SECOND for the past year. It is estimated (Schweikert) that the debt will reach $39 Trillion by March 6, 2026.

…to be continued…