In the United States, for example, the central government collects about 20% of the country’s GDP and pays out a similar amount. That centralization of taxes and spending creates an automatic stabilizer for any region that experiences an economic downturn: the affected region’s residents send less money to Washington and receive more in transfers.
但如此方式的财政联盟与大部分人所理解的财政联盟大相径庭。比如，在美国，中央政府大约能征收美国GDP的20%，支出规模也与此相仿。如此集中的税收和支出创造了一个自动稳定器，能在任何地区发生经济衰退时起作用：衰退地区居民向华盛顿交的钱更少了，而收到的转移支付更多了。