In a recent RedState article, I included a prophetic line from a 70s rock classic: "Tax the rich, feed the poor, til there are no rich no more." Arguably, California and New York have more eagerly and stubbornly followed that disastrous utopian advice than any other state in the Union.
As a result, the largest two Democrat-run states are getting exactly what they paid for.
Correction: Exactly what their fed-up taxpayers have paid for.
So how bad is it? Let's put it this way: New York and California have each lost more than $1 trillion in managed assets as financial firms and Big Tech firms have fled to Texas, Florida, and other southern states. Moreover, the exodus continues.
What did Einstein tell us? Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is the definition of insanity? Yeah, that.
A Bloomberg analysis of the corporate filing of more than 17,000 firms conducted since the end of 2019 found bleak results for both states.
From the start of 2020 through the end of March 2023, more than 370 investment companies – managing about $2.7 trillion in assets – moved their headquarters to a new state, according to Bloomberg.
The overwhelming majority of the migration was from high-tax states in the Northeast and on the West Coast and into lower-tax states like Florida and Texas, which boast no income tax.
The departure of companies like Elliott Management, AllianceBernstein and Charles Schwab has drained the two states of thousands of high-paying jobs, further burdening city and state finances by sapping tax revenue.
Commercial property markets have also buckled under the weight of the sudden exit of the finance industry, at the same time they are struggling to find new tenants amid the surge in remote work.
But, hey — no biggie, right?
I mean, what could be more important than run-away violent crime, homelessness, hopeless drug addiction, revolving-door jail cells, and ridiculous woke policies?
Besides, as socialist lunatics like Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders endlessly babble on, evil corporations don't pay their "fair share," anyway. So, good riddance! Don't let the door hit you!
Wait.
It's not just mega corporations that are exiting New York and California in record numbers; their citizens are also fleeing in droves for better climes — and I don't just mean the weather — as well.
According to a Bank of America analyst:
We constructed near real-time estimates of domestic migration flows and found that pandemic migration trends are not reversing," the analysis said. Since the first quarter of 2023, the data "suggests that cities that saw a large influx of people during the pandemic have still been growing faster than other cities in recent quarters.
Out-of-control San Francisco experienced a one percent drop in population in just the first quarter of 2023, and more than a three percent drop from 2020 to 2022. Likewise, New York City lost roughly one percent of its population in early 2023 and three percent in the two prior years.
One would think a Big City Democrat with a modicum of intelligence would see the writing — or the graffiti, as it were — on the wall and think, "Wait a minute... we need to take an objective look at the impact of our insane policies and make some serious changes."
Welp, one would be wrong to think that.
Take Chicago, for example. As we reported earlier in August, gang shootings have increased — even on the Northside — to the point where a community group recently emailed a newsletter featuring a desperate plea — dubbed “The People’s Ordinance" — asking gang members not to fire guns or commit shootings between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m.
Who'd a thunk that Chicago voters, who kicked prior Mayor Lori Lightfoot to the curb, would turn around and elect Brandon Johnson, of all people, who is proving to be at least as disastrous as was Lightfoot, and likely worse in the long run?
The Bottom Line
Comedian George Carlin warned: "Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups."
The whole Democrat thing makes me wonder if, somewhere, Albert Einstein and George Carlin are enjoying a couple of beers while shaking their heads. Or maybe, having a good "We told you so" laugh.