The Schnorrer State

According to the Tax Foundation, Alaska ranked first in federal spending per capita in 18 of the 25 years from 1981 through 2005. In 2005, Alaskans received $1.84 for every dollar they sent to Washington in taxes. Stevens, who was chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee for a dozen years and until his indictment was the senior Republican on the defense appropriations subcommittee, has played such an important role in this northward redistribution of income that federal spending in Alaska is known as "Stevens money."

Alaska continues to receive these subsidies from the rest of us even though its government, which collects neither sales nor income tax from state residents, is flush with oil revenue and running budget surpluses. Yet Stevens, who lobbied for statehood in the 1950s, still sees Alaskans, the biggest beneficiaries of congressional largess, as victims of a high-handed federal government.

During his 2005 tantrum over Tom Coburn's proposal to move transportation money from Alaska to hurricane-stricken Louisiana (a proposal the Senate overwhelmingly rejected), Stevens repeatedly invoked his state's "sovereign" and "equal" status, seemingly worried that his colleagues were disrespecting Alaska behind his back. His attitude was reminiscent of a beggar who not only demands a handout but also insists that everyone pretend the money was his all along.