Friday, February 27, 2009

The Golden State? Not So Much, Anymore...

Many long-time residents of California (over 35 years for me) consider themselves very fortunate to live in this “Golden State”. But these days, many of us – for the very first time – are entertaining the possibility that we might leave. Why? For me, outrageously high taxes, intrusive regulation, and an increasingly succesful socialist takeover top the list. Others may have different lists. But the chart at right (from this study by Arthur Laffer and Stephen Moore) contains the sobering numbers...

The chart shows net internal immigration (positive) or emigration (negative). In other words, those states with larger positive numbers have U.S. residents moving into them from other states, and those states with larger negative numbers have residents moving out of them into other states.

And look where California is...