Shrinking Government From a State Perspective

I have been looking at a few things most notably Here. Specifically the research that shows How much a state sends to the feds and how much they receive back. I was shocked that Virginia is consistently ranked very high nationally and of course the District of Columbia outranks everyone.

I consider myself a fiscal conservative and view as do many others our Rep party is out of touch with its roots. In a system that inherently corrupts all who come to power (Politics), Our Congress critters are completely infatuated with suckling of the federal teat. What I would love to see are states starting to refuse federal funds, and especially unfunded federal mandated programs. For too long states have diluted their constitutional power from federal handouts. What happened to self sufficiency? I am not an economist nor a financial wizard but getting more back than you put in creates debt which we do not need more of as a nation. If states cant pay for the programs they have then cut them out. I don’t think its very difficult.