Federal money as a shield against state lawmaker accountability
This article by James Hohman of the Mackinac Center is from February but it’s worth highlighting for as long as needed. It delves into the essential point that state lawmakers love federal money and how they love to use it to shield themselves from accountability.
The illusion of free money from the federal government is a real and persistent threat. And state lawmakers often race to focus the “free money” part. Of course, you the taxpayer are still on the hook, as Hohman reminds us:
The idea that state governments need to get their fair share from Washington might make sense to state officials, but it is a bad deal for taxpayers. State lawmakers may want the federal government to pay for all their wants and needs. But that money comes from taxpayers, including the taxpayers in their state. Pretending that the money is free and comes from someone else will bankrupt the country.
I’d much rather live in community and a nation where taxpayers have more say over their earnings, which is accomplished by more spending decisions by the representatives closer to the people — at the state and local level. Hohman says “pretending the money is free” is a recipe for bankruptcy. Inflation, the rising cost of living, and our egregious federal debt are reminders of how hight the cost is already.
Medicaid is a classic example. Most states would fund healthcare assistance for the poor regardless, yet the federal match formula encourages states to spend more than what is prudent. Why? Because for every dollar they put in, Washington chips in more—so they keep expanding beyond the initial design of the program. It’s like a drug high: the demand keeps rising, and the system becomes less about helping residents and more about maximizing federal payouts.
Hohman and the Mackinac Center offer an important reminder of the high cost of centralized power and the perverse incentives created by Washington’s spending habits. Hopefully taxpayers will demand more federalism heroes.
— The Federalism Beat