[Sherman Logan]

Alaska has always been another one I’ve always wondered why they hang on. They are 100% self sufficient with access to the ocean and abundant natural resources.

That self-sufficiency is of course why they're #3 on the list of "taker" states, with $1.84 in federal payments for each dollar of taxes.

http://tax.d7.qorvisdev.com/article/federal-spending-received-dollar-taxes-paid-state-2005

[Secret Agent Man]

People are paid thousands of dollars to live in Alaska.

[wastedyears]

What does the number of wealthy people in Texas look like compared to, say, New York, or anywhere in New England (a lot of old money). If you have a lot of people that don’t have a job that enables them to retire well before retirement age, then they’re going to get more back under federal law. Whereas with families in New England, who have linage that goes back to Revolutionary times, have been growing their trust funds since those times.