Too often, elected officials overlook the cumulative costs of regulations, taxes, and fees on taxpayers. However, those added costs come back to bite them hard when people pack up and move, businesses close, or take matters into their own hands and pass an initiative or referendum.
Consider what has happened in high tax and cost of living states, such as California, New York, Illinois and Connecticut.
In 2023, the National Association of Realtors broke down migration data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Florida, Texas and the Carolinas had the biggest influx of new domestic residents (people moving from other states), while New Jersey, Illinois, New York and California lost the most people. Florida was also the fastest growing state in 2022 (+1.9%), while New York shrank the most (-0.9%)…