Ron DeSantis dunked on Eric Adams in New York City earlier this week. I was trying to shame the Florida governor over his policies. One Twitter user replied:
Memo to failed blue-state leaders: might want to hold off on criticizing @RonDeSantisFL while your own states are falling apart.
Or you could just keep doing it and continue getting dunked on by @ChristinaPushawhttps://t.co/giK64iORXY
— Bob Hoge (@Bob_Hoge_CA) February 21, 2023
This misguided thinking leads to the problem that many New Yorkers fled the city after the pandemic. Many of these New Yorkers have multi-millionaires or billionaires who pay most of the taxes that keep New York City afloat.
Daily Mail reports on the exodus of residents (and their money).
New data from the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance shows that the exodus of millionaires out of the Empire State, which started during the Covid-19 pandemic in the 1980s, didn’t slow down in 2021.
1,453 people with incomes greater than $25,000,000 fled the state in 2021. This is only 520 more people than those who fled during peak social distancing or lockdowns.
Despite not being an expert in math, I know enough to be able to do basic calculations. Let’s say that there are 1,452 residents left with a combined worth of more than $25 million. There are many more. This is a lot. This Excel spreadsheet shows that “a lot” of the tax revenue has fled to the hills.
You might think, well, New York has plenty of taxpayers, it’s not that big a deal. But consider this: the top one percent of earners in New York account for close to half of the state’s income tax revenue.
Who left New York? Here’s a partial list:
- Carl Icahn (Queen’s native billionaire, with a net worth of $ 18.5 billion) confirmed that he had moved to Florida in 2020 due to taxation.
- David Tepper (owner of the Carolina Panthers, estimated net worth at $ 18.5 billion), relocated his business to Florida.
- Paul Tudor Jones, a hedge fund manager, has a net worth of $7.3 billion. For tax reasons, he left the Big Apple and moved to the Palm Beach region.
- Stephen Ross, a billionaire real-estate developer, stated that his company would expand to Florida. Although he doesn’t plan to leave New York, he acknowledges there are security and tax issues. It is not an easy life.
Why is this dramatic exodus? One reason is the exorbitant New York taxes. The NY Post reports that Luv Guv’s millionaire tax impacted many wealthy individuals.
The exodus began after a “millionaire’s tax” was levied by a disgraced governor. Andrew Cuomo was part of the COVID relief budget 2020, which raised the top tax rate from 8.82% – 9.65%. New York is now the most taxed US state.
McMahon, an [Empire Center for Public Policy Analyst] stated that it was absurd for it to claim it wasn’t one. It is the variable controlled by the state government.
It’s not just the taxes. It’s also the crime and quality of life. People living in expensive apartments can be vulnerable to “occasional subway accidents”, as the Twitter user described it.
Manhattan crime rose by 23.5 percent between 2022 and 2022. Robberies, rapes, and other crimes all increased.
Grand larceny (thefts exceeding $1,000) has increased by more than 60% in New York City over the past year.
New York and California have lost more than half a million people since 2020, the year that the pandemic started. They were helped by ineffective COVID mandates and ridiculous taxes.
Although we still have hope of a recovery in these once-great states the current outlook is grim due to their progressive policies.
