As you point out, it is really disgusting for states like Alabama to spring debt traps on poor citizens. However, it is also utterly unfair of you to accuse red states of receiving "handouts". The two largest federal spending programs that benefit red states are retiree support: Medicaid and retirement Social Security. https://www.cbo.gov/publication/56325 Red states receive the most in federal money because retirees choose to move to red states because the cost of living is cheap, and they tend not to tax social security income as much. This has nothing to do with dependency. It has to do with the fact that red states are friendlier to retirees.