Comment on Richardson: Progressive Federal Taxation Drives Redistribution from Blue to Red States

Abstract

Professor Richardson documents redistribution from Democratic states to Republican states and links this to the 1994 "Republican revolution" -- suggesting a deliberative effort by Republicans to redistribute income towards their constituents. Seth Giertz of the University of Nebraska argues that what Professor Richardson's analysis really shows is that "red" states -- but not necessarily Republicans within those states -- are (increasingly) the major beneficiaries of federal redistributive policies -- and that "blue" states are (increasingly) the benefactors.