Conflicts over federal government spending have been a defining feature of 21st-century American politics. It is not surprising that a general uptick in opposition to spending should follow a global economic crisis like the Great Recession. But the dynamics of the conflict are curious — in particular, fierce critiques of spending have come from areas of the U.S. that rely more heavily on federal money.
Research: Opposition to Federal Spending Is Driven by Racial Resentment
The fiercest opposition to federal spending tends to come from areas of the U.S. that rely more heavily on federal money. New research documents and analyzes this phenomenon, called the federal spending paradox. It found that a 10-percentage-point increase in opposition to federal spending is associated with an additional $0.37 in federal outlays per tax dollar paid, or an extra $17.1 billion in federal money for a state with an average tax burden. But why? Looking at noneconomic influences on individuals’ fiscal attitudes revealed that greater racial resentment was associated with lower support for spending. This remained true even after accounting for other demographic and political characteristics, such as gender, race, age, education, income, party identification, and ideology. In fact, racial resentment was far more powerful in predicting opposition to federal spending than economic self-interest was — for example, it was four times stronger than income.