It's become a well-known fact over the last several years that blue states like California and New York have seen a deluge of businesses and people flee to red states like Texas and Florida, where the cost of living and doing business is considerably less expensive.
It's become so well-known, in fact, that California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has been busy pushing revisionist spin regarding the tax burden in his state versus popular destination states ahead of an expected 2028 presidential bid, falsely proclaiming that those red states are the "real high-tax states."
As we reported, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) was having none of it, tweeting that "There are lies, damned lies and statistics. Then there is whatever you’d call the claim that California has lower taxes than Florida."
"Even people who like California governance acknowledge CA is a very high tax state: highest sales, income, and gas taxes in the nation," DeSantis also wrote.
READ MORE: Newsom's Revisionist Tour Hits Snag When He Makes a Florida Claim That DeSantis Won't Let Stand
For the last two years, New York state has ranked 47th on U-Haul's annual migration report, "its worst migration ranking in a decade." This is something that its Democrat governor, Kathy Hochul, is keenly aware of - so much so that she's now on record begging New Yorkers who left the Empire State for Florida to come back to help pay for NY's bloated social programs:
Hochul made the case against caving to Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s demands that she hike income taxes — by saying she not only wants fat cats to stay in the city, but also clawing at those who have moved to states with better business climates like Florida.
“Maybe the first step should be go down to Palm Beach and see who we can bring back home because our tax base has been eroded,” the Democratic governor said at a forum hosted by Politico last week.
Here's the full quote:
I need people who are high-net-worth to support the generous social programs that we want to have in our state. Right?
Now, there are some patriotic millionaires who stepped up. Okay, cut me the checks. If you want to be supportive, but maybe the first step should be to go down to Palm Beach and see who we can bring back home because our tax base has been eroded. So I philosophically don't have a problem, I have to look at the fact that we are in competition with other states who have less of a tax burden on their corporations and their individuals.
Gee, ya think?
Watch:
Kathy Hochul making a weak plea for wealthy people who have left New York (to red states like Florida) to come back to pay their high taxes to fund failing (unaccountable) social programs:
— Matt Whitlock (@MattWhitlock) March 18, 2026
“I need people who are high net worth to support the generous social programs we have in… pic.twitter.com/7quhsFyWyn
Hochul also referred to people who could not previously flee her state to work as "captives," stating that "I would say remote work changed everything."
"There were people who could only work in an office in Manhattan or work in New York State, and they were captives to our state. They were going to stay. We saw that that's not the case. Wall Street, businesses looking at Texas?" Hochul also declared.
Her use of the term "captives" to refer to taxpayers did not go unnoticed.
"Gee, I wonder why 'captives' might not want to return to captivity?" Charlie Kirk Show producer Blake Neff wrote in response.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul admits that New York's tax cattle were "captives" stuck in Manhattan, and that remote work enabled thousands of them to leave. Now the state is going broke and she's begging them to return (she also begs "patriotic millionaires" to "cut me a check,"… https://t.co/oy2bVhLXn4
— Blake Neff (@BlakeSNeff) March 18, 2026
You know, a business or a family picking up and moving from one state to another is no small thing. It's expensive, and it's time-consuming, with a lot of logistics having to be worked out way ahead of time. Not to mention the emotion involved if some family members choose to stay. But those who decide to move do so because living/working/doing business there has become more problematic than it's worth for many.
Maybe instead of insinuating that the only "patriotic" Americans are the ones who want to pay for NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani's socialist utopia, Hochul should attempt to do things that would, you know, make people want to come back. Because under the current political/economic climate and conditions, the likelihood of that happening to any significant degree is pretty close to zero, no matter how often she goes to Palm Beach to directly make the case herself:
So many New Yorkers have fled South to Florida that New York Governor Kathy Hochul has to now host fundraisers in Palm Beach. pic.twitter.com/uaGojFYMFV
— Reza Chowdhury (@RezaC1) January 4, 2024
Can't make it up.
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