OPINION:
In June 2022, under the presidency of Joseph R. Biden, inflation in the United States peaked to 9.1%, marking a painful economic moment for many American families. In his first 38 months in office, inflation rose more than 18%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Housing affordability was at its lowest point in decades, with mortgage rates climbing above 7% to their highest levels in more than 20 years.
When Mr. Biden took office, mortgage rates were at a record low of 2.65%.
When the so-called Inflation Reduction Act was passed through Congress and signed into law, it was nothing more than a government handout to solar, wind, biofuels and carbon capture projects. It did nothing to lower the cost of everyday goods, unless you were in the market for an electric vehicle.
To cover the cost of government largesse, Mr. Biden’s last budget proposed raising taxes by $4.4 trillion, mainly by taxing the rich.
During this period, Americans fled high-tax blue states for low-tax red ones. The IRS recently released net migration data for 2023, showing that red states gained $37.2 billion in income and added 492,000 new tax filers. Blue states, meanwhile, lost $40.8 billion in revenue and 520,000 filers. Among the worst-hit states were California (-$11.9 billion), New York (-$9.9 billion), Illinois (-$6 billion), Massachusetts (-$4.2 billion) and New Jersey (-$2.8 billion).
The redder a state voted, the more high-income Americans moved there per resident. Florida gained the advantage nationally, followed by South Carolina.
To date, Democrats don’t seem to realize that Americans will vote with their feet when it comes to escaping high taxes, low affordability and business-throttling regulations imposed by either the state or federal government.
For example, in 2023, Massachusetts introduced a 4% surtax on income of more than $1 million under the “Fair Share Amendment.” As a result, 41,000 residents left the state, taking $4.2 billion in tax revenue with them. Seventy percent of those who left came from the top tax bracket.
California, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut all have similar millionaire taxes, and all have experienced a similar fleecing.
Still, just last week, Washington state Democrats pushed through a 9.9% income tax on households earning more than $1 million a year, which Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson has pledged to sign into law. Already, Bulwark Capital Management’s principal said he is leaving the state and bringing his business with him. The CEO of Moment said he is out and moving to Wyoming. Starbucks has made plans to expand its corporate footprint in Nashville, Tennessee.
Meanwhile, according to Fox News, downtown Seattle’s office vacancy rate reached a record high above 30% in 2025, “a figure Downtown Seattle Association’s Jon Scholes tied directly to the city’s escalating tax burden.”
California, which has recorded the highest net outbound migration in the U.S. for six consecutive years, still hasn’t learned that its tax-and-spend policies are driving out residents and eroding its revenue base. The state is considering a billionaire tax act in November, a ballot initiative that already has entrepreneurs fleeing.
Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick ditched the Golden State for Texas, joining the ranks of Elon Musk, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, all of whom have moved from California to Texas or Florida.
The lesson is clear: Money will move. It always has, and it always will. Prosperity is created in low-tax, low-regulatory environments, not in high-tax-and-spend localities.
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