Apropos of my link to Paul Begala's article on how some states live on the tax dollars paid by other states, I received a message from "Ruben Bolling," creator of the wonderful comic strip, Tom the Dancing Bug. He links me to this page and the info thereupon that shows, among other things, how much money each state gets back from the federal government in goods and services. For instance, for every dollar New Mexico and Mississippi pays to the U.S. treasury, they get back more than two dollars…or at least they did in '05, which is what the chart on that page covers. It may not be that way today but the principle, no doubt, lives on.
You should, by the way, be following Tom the Dancing Bug whenever and wherever you can. Here's a good place.