BOSTON — Hey, isn’t it time all these so-called “conservatives” down in the red states actually started standing on their own two feet?

We’re not trying to be mean. But, you know: Tough love.

A new report from WalletHub confirms what we already suspected: The states that depend the most on “big gubmin”t are also the states that are are always whining the most about… “big gubmint.”

And, wouldn’t you know it, one of the worst offenders is Kentucky — the state represented in the Senate by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican.

How about that? Do you think he’s going to mention it any time soon?

Kentucky ranks fifth in terms of overall dependence on government, WalletHub determined using data on federal spending in each state, the share of households on welfare, the number of government workers and the total tax burden as a share of income.. No. 1 was Mississippi — no surprises there — followed by Alaska.

Conservative “red” states of the south and west make up eight of the 10 states with the highest dependency on government, and 19 of the top 25.

Oops.

Yes, isn’t it time to roll back government spending? You show us the way, West Virginia (the fourth-most dependent). And you, Arizona (No. 8) and South Carolina (No. 9).

Let’s crack down on all those “Cadillac queens.” Except it turns out the real offenders are the “Pickup princes” in the South and West.

Sure, there are some prominent blue states with high rates of government dependence: Vermont is No. 11, New York No. 19. But they’re not near the top… and in any case, their citizens, in general, aren’t always complaining and complaining and complaining about big government.

Six of the 10 states that are least dependent — yes, least dependent — on the government voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016.

But credit where it’s due to the people of Kansas and Utah, who lived up to their conservative credentials. Those two states ranked first and second in terms of independence from government.

Others have repeatedly pointed out that every year the so-called “blue” states pay way more than their share in federal taxes, and the extra money goes to the red states. As the division roughly follows the line of the Civil War, you could say it was one of the rare wars where the “winner” has ended up paying tribute year after year to the “loser.”

President Trump and the Republicans in Congress, by no accident whatsoever, ramped up the annual tribute by capping some of the federal tax deductions used most heavily in the blue states.

Read:Trump’s tax reform appears to be giving more money back to Republican ‘red’ states

And he’s increasing it still further by bailing out farmers during the “trade war.” Blue staters from Massachusetts to New Jersey to Illinois to California must now compensate Midwestern farmers for their decision to vote for Donald Trump in 2016.

The blue staters, as always, are just rolling over and taking it. Democrats, the “blue” state party, actually keep campaigning for higher federal taxes. It’s like turkeys campaigning for Thanksgiving.

I’ll vote for any candidate who promises to end the annual tribute. Repeal the cap on state and local tax deductions (also known as SALT) and institute a dollar-for-dollar federal tax exclusion for all our state and local taxes. Oh, yes, and “build a wall”… just not quite so far south as Trump’s.