Government budget cuts hit red states the hardest

(Image credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

published 28 January 2015

A new Reuters analysis found that recent budget cuts may demonstrate the politicization of public spending.

The findings suggest that governmental budget cuts after a 2011 budget deal hit Republican states harder than swing states or Democratic states. Funding for discretionary grant programs has fallen 40 percent in red states, versus just 25 percent in purple and blue states. The funding cuts affected programs including Head Start preschool education and anti-drug initiatives.