Fun with Numbers -- Invoking the 10th

One thing I missed out on last week during my break was Republican candidate for governor Bob Vander Plaats' vow to invoke the 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution to shield Iowa from socialist health care reform.

Vander Plaats is quoted at O. Kay Henderson's always must-read blog:

“I talk to so many Iowans who are fed up with the federal government trying to grab more and more power over their lives and take more and more of their money. There's no clearer example of that power grab than the Democrats' plan to take over our health care system lock, stock and barrel,” said Vander Plaats, noting that Iowa consistently ranks high in health care delivery and very low in federal reimbursement. “Frankly, there's no reason for us to just sit here and let the federal government run roughshod over the public's will. If that legislation passes, I'll show the federal government that the states still have a say in things.”

“...In other words, powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. I would argue that a federal take-over of our health care system is not a power delegated to the United States,” he said. “I'll be a governor who reminds Congress and the President that there's a reason the constitution has a 10th amendment.”

Henderson notes that this is a follow-up to Vander Plaats' call for state sovereignty last summer. For a guy who claims to be like Lincoln, it seems he's  also got a little Jeff Davis in there, too.

Fellow GOP hopeful Rod Roberts followed suit, hoping for a lawsuit:

“President Obama's health care plan is an unprecedented power-grab by the federal government that would severely hinder states' rights. Allowing the nationalization of health care would result in an even larger federal government, higher government spending, higher taxes, and less individual liberty,” said Roberts, a five-term State Representative from Carroll. “President Obama's plan is unconstitutional, and with my amendment, I will bring a lawsuit against President Obama to have his health care plan struck as a violation of Iowans' Tenth Amendment rights.”

Before I could set up a pot-kettle conference call, Bleeding Heartland swiftly pointed out that this is evidently one of those situations where separation of power hawks think it's OK to ask a pack of unelected activist judges to overturn the will of our elected representatives.

Still, this whole states' rights battle cry got me fired up. Why not just throw off the yoke of our federal oppressors once and for all and go it alone?

What does the fed do for us anyway, really, other than steal our freedom, bum us out with calorie counts on our Zingers and take away highway money if we don't ban texting while driving?

Well, in 2008, the federal government spent $23,927,449,258 in Iowa, according to a report posted by the State Data Center. That's nearly four times the size of the state's general fund budget, if you're keeping score.

Most of those proceeds of tyranny went for crop insurance - $11.5 billion-  and Social Security retirement, survivors and disability insurance - nearly  $7 billion. Another $5.4 billion went for Medicare and Medicaid payments, also known as popular socialized medicine.

There was a $1.7 billion line item for flood insurance, $1.1 billion in mortgage insurance, $733 million for student loans and $456 million for highways.

Is any of this specifically mentioned in the Constitution? I don't think so.

But at what cost, this federalist swag?

According to the Tax Foundation, Iowa is a "beneficiary state," meaning we get $1.10 in federal spending back for every $1 we pay in taxes. We even made the top 25, coming in at No. 24.

We've been a beneficiary state since 1985, according to the report.

The Tax Foundation report only goes through 2005. I called and e-mailed around looking for a 2008 tax-spending comparison, but haven't tracked it down at this hour. If you know where to find it, let me know.

I doubt, however, that with the stimulus, etc., that we're now doing worse than $1.10. And at that rate, if we cut the chains of federal bondage, I guess we'd lose about $2.4 billion. Freedom. Not free.

Anyway, who cares about a bunch of pinko numbers?  To the ramparts! 

But let's take the interstate. Faster.