No state had been in as much fiscal troubles as California during the past recession. It's still in trouble and it's looking for ways of closing its budget shortfall. But the thing to remember here is that California is quite rich. In fact, it's the richest state in the nation, with 14% of the total wealth, or $8 Trillion. New York, another state lamenting its budget problems to the press, has the second biggest share of national wealth. It's wealthier than the second most populous state, Texas.   Below is a pie chart showing the distribution of wealth by state. Wealthiest states are bluer than the rest of the US, and they're usually bigger spenders and in a bigger hole than are the rest of the states. Since the tax system is pretty progressive in the country as a whole, these states probably pay a higher percentage of overall taxes collected.   You can take a look below and decide whether these states deserve a federal bailout or not:    Wealthiest 15 States: California             14.03% New York              7.37% Texas                      7.02% Florida                    5.74% Illinois                    4.52% New Jersey            4.13% Pennsylvania        3.91% Ohio                          3.30% Virginia                   3.27% Michigan                 3.00% Massachusetts      2.88% Georgia                    2.88% Maryland                2.69% North Carolina      2.63% Washington           2.35% Bottom 15 States: New Mexico        0.50% Nebraska              0.49% Hawaii                   0.48% West Virginia     0.40% Idaho                     0.39% Rhode Island      0.38% Maine                    0.37% D.C.                         0.31% Delaware              0.31% Alaska                   0.25% Montana               0.24% Vermont              0.20% South Dakota     0.19% North Dakota     0.17% Wyoming             0.17%