S.C. Among Top States Taking Federal Funds

In speeches and platform statements, South Carolina GOP officials have for years railed against the evils of the federal budget and bloated spending.

But the red meat served to Republican voters has covered up a dirty little secret known by many in political circles, that South Carolina collects more in federal funds than most states.

For while some political candidates shake their angry fists at Washington, the state's citizens are benefitting from a host of government programs, grants, contracts and entitlement spending that have made the state among the most dependent in the nation on federal dollars.

"It boggles the mind to think about all the federal money that comes into this state that we do all kinds of stuff to get and then we pretend it isn't federal money," U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, a Columbia Democrat, told The Greenville News.

"If you shut down 25 percent of all the federal dollars coming into South Carolina, the economy of South Carolina would collapse."

South Carolina receives $7.87 in federal funds for every dollar spent in income taxes, the highest ratio of any state, according to a spring study by WalletHub, a personal finance website. The state ranked 12th overall in most dependence on the federal government, according to the study.

"South Carolina is getting seven times what they are giving to the federal government," said Jill Gonzalez, a spokesperson for WalletHub. "And that is really what makes them the 12th most dependent on the federal government."

For the 2014 fiscal year, federal agencies sent $59.4 billion to South Carolina, the 11thhighest total in the nation, according to USASpending.gov, a government website that tracks federal spending.

That total is almost nine times greater than the state's annual General Fund budget.