Were the feds to give to Alaska the approximately 90% of the land mass that is federal property and to unlock the various resources the responsible-to-nobody EPA has shut down then there might be some reason to expect that state to be self sufficient. Enough so as to warrant an independence referendum. Of course if/when Putin demands it be given back and Obama capitulates, grovels and apologizes then Alaska would be apt to be more productive, too.
As I recall, the Alaska government passed out windfall checks of thousands of dollars to every citizen of Alaska, for years, when the oil started flowing from the pipeline. And, yet, they still have to collect much more from the feds than they pay.
It would be kind of like me giving all my relatives 10's of thousands of dollars that I inherited when Uncle Joe died, and then applying to the federal government for cash, while pleading poverty.
If this is the tea party's idea of sound economic decisions, it would explain a whole lot about the Tea Party.