Right-wingers are arrogant. But with that arrogance comes ignorance. It is why red states fail.
Well, one of the reasons is, income. Many blue states hold a lot of business headquarters. California has silicon valley, new york has wall street and many major economic powerhouses. Red states have some but lean more toward energy and manufacturing. So, yes, blue states will pay more in taxes.
Now, let's look at California. They pay more in taxes, because California taxes people by a large margin compared to anywhere else. The cost of living is also very high in California, so their wages are going to be higher than anywhere else in the country. Now here's the deal, they get paid a huge wage to keep up with the cost of living, but they are not any more productive than someone getting paid less money to do the same job in a other state. So you have a state where wages are hugely inflated, but , per person, isn't actually producing any more, for the wages the companies have to pay. In easence, California generates more tax revenue for no more output than a lower wage state.
Also, in those states where wages are lower, federal land, federal highways still need to be maintained, as well as military bases. All of those are the responsibility of the federal government.
Also, farm subsidies are pretty big in red states. Many blue states don't have much agriculture. You do like to eat, don't you?
Also, one of the chief commodities in solenred states is energy, and the democrats war on drilling cuts into that industry.
I'd like to see a breakdown of where federal money is going in each of these red states. Is it going to rural red America, or blue cities inside red states.
I'm going to have to research that one day...that's an interesting question.