This excerpt originally appeared in National Review Online on January 24, 2012.

No matter where you live, you are subjected to Washington’s tax bite, which has grown so big that differences in state tax rates don’t mean as much as they used to. Also, the federal government is pouring billions of dollars each year in the states’ coffers. But this money isn’t free; it comes with many strings attached. In the end, the relationship between states and the federal government is that of a wealthy parent who give $20 to his kid and then forces him to buy $50 worth of clothes. So much for independence.