Republican U.S. Representative Clay Higgins has been a vociferous supporter of budget reduction in Washington. In Louisiana, where I’m from, things are different.
The conservative wearing a cowboy hat often touts government assistance for ports, hospitals, and bridges in his area while voting against budget measures that contain them because they are “unsustainable” and “socialist garbage.”
Higgins must now strike a balance between his small-government views and the needs of his people as Republicans in Congress pressure Democratic President Joe Biden to approve trillion-dollar expenditure cutbacks to avoid a fiscal default that may happen as soon as June 1.
Despite the ease with which Higgins was re-elected in his mostly Republican district last year, his people are largely reliant on government funding, particularly in the event of catastrophic storms in 2020.
Around 200 residents in Higgins’ area were awarded subsidies to repair hurricane damage to their homes. “I know so many people that need assistance,” said Roy Willis, 79.
Republican-leaning states like Louisiana stand to lose more under the budget cutbacks supported by House Republicans, according to a Reuters analysis of federal expenditure data.
According to the analysis, which used data gathered by the New York State Controller, states that supported Republican President Donald Trump received on average $2.12 in federal expenditures in the 2020 fiscal year, covering everything from pension payments to military contracts. States that supported Biden received $1.79 out of every dollar donated.
Even better was Louisiana, one of the poorest states, which received $2.62 for every dollar paid. According to a Reuters study of Census data, Louisiana was second only to Alaska in terms of its dependence on federal money, with 47% of state income coming from Washington in 2021.
