Forty-six States and four Commonwealths (Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Kentucky) make up the United States. Federal taxes are paid by citizens and residents of each of these entities. Money then is dispersed from Washington, D.C. 

   Years ago, a State Representative from Howard County campaigned, in part, on the notion Indiana should try at least to get back the same amount of money in benefits from the Federal government as its people pay into the Fed. The rankings indicate Indiana is in the bottom half---30th place according to Stone Soup's David Yin. That source showed Indiana received $1.05 for every dollar that went to D.C. Some question the validity of such rankings, and indicate Federal expenditures on military bases, as one example, are an artificial indication of Federal largesse.

   A lot of military bases are located in the South because, for a long time, members of the House who hailed from Southern States benefited from gerrymandered districts. Members of the House and the Senate benefited from the old "Solid South"---the southern States voted for candidates from the Democratic Party because of lingering anger toward the Republican Party and its progressive steps against discrimination (and :"for" carpetbagging) after the Civil War. Seniority on committees brought the ability to steer projects, such as large military bases, to southern States.

   Regardless of where Indiana ranks, if we, as a State, are stuck with Governor Pence's decision to take a "pass" on Affordable Care Act expansion of Medicaid, we will take a "pass" on money we have paid in taxes to the Federal government. According to Indianapolis attorney Bill Groth, sources show that will total $10.45 billion by the year 2020.

   The fight against the ACA is a rear-guard action that is doomed. The real fight is against the inevitable---single-payer, the system many of us thought should have been adopted instead of the Heritage Foundation-created and Republican-supported (in the early 1990s) mandate that because the Affordable Care Act, a/k/a Obamacare.

   Governor Pence has allowed other States (and those Commonwealths) to simply step up and take our money, when the money could be back here to provide coverage to the poor and underemployed where, in turn, it would generate jobs.

   Governor Pence ought either to pony up and pay in the difference his decision will cost Hoosiers, or at least give a call to the Koch brothers and tell them to put their money where their mouths are. If Governor Pence needs their numbers, he can call Governor Scott Walker in Wisconsin. Of course, Walker might have the Koch brothers' numbers on his speed dial. If so, he might not be able to say what the numbers are, but I am confident he can his one of the numbers and hold his cell phone up so Governor Pence can speak with those political money managers.