California—the largest donor state—pays $83 billion more in federal taxes than receiving back in support. In 2022 alone, California contributed $692 billion to the federal government, distributing disproportionately greater sums of money to states with higher poverty rates—most supporting the Republican Party.
As a result of threats to minimize California’s federal funding, California Governor Gavin Newsom is exploring possibilities of whether the state could legally reduce contributions, suggesting withholding some taxes California pays to the United States.
The hypothetical scenario is whether California should continue supporting red states at the capacity they do.
Rather than helping red states, California should prioritize its own residents by investing in healthcare, infrastructure and education.
In a statistic courtesy of LACES Community Representative Ms. Maggie Scott, UCLA takes in about 14% of LACES seniors. The university receives $1.6 billion annually in federal grants; according to the Los Angeles Times, the Trump Administration is suspending $584 million in UCLA research funding, risking cuts to tuition-based financial aid.
LACES College Counselor Ms. Candice Mackey, based on the 2025 LAUSD Senior Exit Survey, provided statistics that only 15 out of 156 LACES students did not apply for financial aid. 36% said they were not worried about fees next year, 42% were somewhat worried, and 22% were very worried.
If students are unable to pay tuitions, they may need to search for alternatives to their dream schools.
If California invested more in its citizens, funneling money directly into its universities rather than contributing to other states, students would have more stability. LACES and other high school students would be able to choose the schools they worked so hard to get into.
The House Panel approved Federal Title I funding being cut by 26%. In several ways, LACES relies on Title I funds.
“LACES benefits when we have Title I money,” said Magnet Coordinator Ms. Jennipher Lewis. “For students coming from families with need, we need extra money for things like tutoring and paying for different jobs.”
Title I is supplemental money, adding to state funds for academic programs providing financial assistance to schools to close achievement gaps for disadvantaged students. California investing more in education would lessen impacts of Title I funding cuts for Fiscal Year 2026.
If California allocated more tax money directly to its citizens, why should the state carry the burden of supporting red states?
The Trump Administration doesn’t support federal programs promoting aid for healthcare and general welfare, such as SNAP, providing food stamps to low-income families. While these states don’t believe in “hand-outs,” they benefit from California’s contributions.
“If our government isn’t going to support programs we believe in, why would we give them money?” said Lewis. “We believe in diversity, we believe in a future where everybody has healthcare, and we believe people should have food to eat. . . We believe in those things.”