Do states with Democratic governors “subsidize” states with Republican governors? That claim circulated widely last summer during the run-up to the federal budget vote — the idea that Democratic-led states pay more in federal taxes than they receive in federal benefits, and the reverse is true for Republican-led states.

The assertion resurfaced during the recent government shutdown, amid federal layoffs, Affordable Care Act subsidies, and questions about how federal contracts are distributed across red and blue states.

Little evidence has been offered to test the claim, so I decided to examine it. I compiled data from multiple sources, including IRS tax and benefit figures, poverty rates from the Department of Health and Human Services, and publicly available population and age statistic

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