Who needs ‘em? NJ is the state least dependent on the federal government

Ever wonder whether New Jersey pulls its own weight in this country? A new study basically confirms what many of us already suspected: we’re carrying quite a bit of it.

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Frankly, more than our fair share.

According to a new report from WalletHub, the Garden State ranks dead last in federal dependency. This means we rely on Washington less than any other state. In other words, New Jersey isn’t the one with its hand out. Instead, New Jersey is the one writing the checks.

The study compared states using several metrics, including how much federal funding a state receives compared to the taxes its residents pay, how much of a state’s revenue comes from federal aid, and how many federal jobs exist there.

And the financial imbalance is pretty stunning.

Recent federal data shows that we sent about $183 billion to Washington in federal taxes but got back only around $113 billion in spending. A difference of $70 billion works out to about $7,500 per resident going out than coming back.

Another way to put it is that Washington takes a buck from us and gives back only 48 cents in services.

Want to get really mad? Here’s how much some states get back versus what they give. Kentucky, for example, gives a dollar and gets back three dollars and thirty-five cents.

Damn.

It’s been this way for a long time.

I’m not laying this at the doorstep of the Trump White House.

However, there’s already no love lost between our governor Mikie Sherrill and President Trump. Good luck asking for any relief from this financial imbalance with the given relationship. When your state is sending tens of billions more to Washington than it gets back, it tends to make people here wonder why.

Bottom line? Don’t ever believe anybody who tells you a ‘blue state’ like New Jersey is made up of federal freeloaders. The opposite is the truth.

You can read WalletHub’s full report here.