It's worth taking a look at four states whose governments seem to be trying to commit suicide. I'm speaking of California, Illinois, New York and my own state of Connecticut. In each state, Democrats are in total control and the "progressives" from the Dems are in the driver's seat. Each state is raising spending at a rapid pace. Each state is hiking taxes and fees as if there is no limit how high they can go. Each state is completely oblivious to the possibility that some government programs don't work and need to be fixed or terminated. As a result, people are leaving in droves to move elsewhere. After all, why stay in a state where you get hit with an income tax of 11% when you can move to Florida and pay no state income tax at all? For a family earning 75,000, the extra income gained by living in Florida could be as much as $8000 per year (or just under $700 per month). For the folks who are part of the ruling Dems in these state capitals, that might not seem like much, but for the average American family this is enormous. When you add in that the cost of living in these four states has been driven to much higher levels than that found in the low tax states, the difference is even bigger.
Then there's the business taxes and regulations. The state right now that imposes the highest cost on new businesses is Connecticut. As a result, there are hardly any new businesses being formed in this state. And the government is raising these costs rather than lowering them. Governor Ned Lamont got elected last fall lying about which taxes he would raise and claiming that he would not make CT residents pay tolls on the highways. He has reneged on those promises; indeed, he moved a near light speed to start piling up the new taxes, fees and costs on the people and businesses of CT,
Fifty years ago, New York was the most populous state in the country, a rank it had held for more than 150 years. Today, because the high cost of living, high taxes, over-regulation and corruption have driven so many to leave the state, New York is now only the fourth most populous state and it is sinking fast.
California was a high growth state until the Democrats took over. Recently, that state did things like borrow and spend tens of billions on a high speed rail line that was abandoned before completion. The state has also gone out of its way to provide benefits of all sorts to illegal aliens so that many locate to California thereby driving up the cost of government to unsustainable levels. Growth in California has stalled. Aside from the illegals who continue to pour in for all the free stuff, California's population is declining.
Illinois has its own problems. The level of corruption seems to have hit atmospheric levels. Taxes and spending are so high that the state is number one on the list of those most likely to default on their debts.
None of these states are beyond rescue. For example, Connecticut could easily cut between 7 and 10 percent of the state budget. It could also take steps to end the crazy sweetheart deal signed with the state employee unions. State employees make much more than workers in comparable jobs in private companies in the state. State workers also get huge pensions which are on course to bankrupt the state. In other words, the current tax levels will have to go up by a lot just to pay for these deals. That will mean more people leaving to escape the taxes.
The saddest part of all this is that in most states, the people leaving are much more likely to see the need for change to stop the cycle of endless taxation and spending. As they leave, it gets harder and harder to rescue these states from the fantasies of the tax and spend Democrats.
Then there's the business taxes and regulations. The state right now that imposes the highest cost on new businesses is Connecticut. As a result, there are hardly any new businesses being formed in this state. And the government is raising these costs rather than lowering them. Governor Ned Lamont got elected last fall lying about which taxes he would raise and claiming that he would not make CT residents pay tolls on the highways. He has reneged on those promises; indeed, he moved a near light speed to start piling up the new taxes, fees and costs on the people and businesses of CT,
Fifty years ago, New York was the most populous state in the country, a rank it had held for more than 150 years. Today, because the high cost of living, high taxes, over-regulation and corruption have driven so many to leave the state, New York is now only the fourth most populous state and it is sinking fast.
California was a high growth state until the Democrats took over. Recently, that state did things like borrow and spend tens of billions on a high speed rail line that was abandoned before completion. The state has also gone out of its way to provide benefits of all sorts to illegal aliens so that many locate to California thereby driving up the cost of government to unsustainable levels. Growth in California has stalled. Aside from the illegals who continue to pour in for all the free stuff, California's population is declining.
Illinois has its own problems. The level of corruption seems to have hit atmospheric levels. Taxes and spending are so high that the state is number one on the list of those most likely to default on their debts.
None of these states are beyond rescue. For example, Connecticut could easily cut between 7 and 10 percent of the state budget. It could also take steps to end the crazy sweetheart deal signed with the state employee unions. State employees make much more than workers in comparable jobs in private companies in the state. State workers also get huge pensions which are on course to bankrupt the state. In other words, the current tax levels will have to go up by a lot just to pay for these deals. That will mean more people leaving to escape the taxes.
The saddest part of all this is that in most states, the people leaving are much more likely to see the need for change to stop the cycle of endless taxation and spending. As they leave, it gets harder and harder to rescue these states from the fantasies of the tax and spend Democrats.
No comments:
Post a Comment