Is it any wonder residents are leaving New Jersey? The Wall Street Journal's editorial board explains Governor Phil Murphy's epic flip-flop on the state's corporate surtax. They write: New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Tuesday proclaimed the resurrection to much jubilation in Trenton. Lo, he plans to revive a corporate 2.5% surtax that lapsed a mere two months ago. The Governor’s $55.9 billion budget for the next fiscal year includes a “new dedicated funding stream to support NJ TRANSIT.” That is, a 2.5% tax on corporate income above $10 million, which would be on top of the state’s current … [Read more...]
Your Tax Dollars at Work: Worst Roads in America
According to the Bureau of Transportation, Rhode Island has the worst roads in America. That's despite having among the top 15 highest taxation among the states, according to the Tax Foundation. Christian Winthrop reports in The Newport Buzz about the sad new ranking for Rhode Island, writing: Rhode Island has the worst roads in America, according to recent data released by the Bureau of Transportation. As of 2020, Rhode Island had the worst roads of any state, with 48.1% of its road miles classified as “poor” by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Even more concerning is the apparent … [Read more...]
California’s Plan to Drive Its Last Wealthy Residents Away
Your Survival Guy has been sounding the alarm on wealth taxes, but California seems hell-bent on driving away its remaining wealthy residents. To that end, California's Assembly will hear a bill on implementing a massive wealth tax on its affluent residents (including part-time residents and even those who have recently moved out of the state). The editorial board of The Wall Street Journal discusses the wealth tax, writing: Progressive ideas that originate in California have a habit of spreading. So it’s worth paying attention to legislation moving in Sacramento to establish a wealth tax … [Read more...]
Where’s Everyone Leaving?
Yesterday, you read about U-Haul's annual report and discovered that the top two destination states in 2023 were Texas and Florida. But which states were residents leaving in 2023? Here's what the report says (abridged): California is 50th and Illinois 49th on the list for the second consecutive year, indicating those states once again witnessed the largest net losses of one-way U-Haul trucks. “We see a lot of growth coming from the East and West Coast,” said Matt Merrill, U-Haul Area District Vice President of the Dallas Fort-Worth Metroplex and West Texas. “A lot of people moving here … [Read more...]
Another Newsom Failure as a Massive Business Leaves California
Another massive business has decided that California's burdensome regulations are simply too much to shoulder. Chevron is leaving the state and heading to Texas, like so many other California businesses. The Wall Street Journal editorial board explains: Congratulations to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is succeeding at his goal of driving away fossil fuel investment and jobs, even while failing to reduce global CO2 emissions. See Chevron’s announcement Tuesday that it is writing down its upstream assets in the Golden State owing to “continuing regulatory challenges.” Chevron’s … [Read more...]
Students Left with No Choice in Illinois
American states across the map are adopting measures aimed at greater school choice. Meanwhile, in Illinois, where fifty-three high schools failed to produce a single student proficient in math, lawmakers are killing school choice. Michael Hartney and Matthew Malec report at City Journal, writing: It’s been a banner year for school choice in the United States. Ever since the Covid-19 pandemic, many more states have expanded educational options for students through new Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) alongside voucher and tuition tax-credit programs. Even as more Americans hunger for … [Read more...]
More Evidence that Americans Are Fleeing the Escape States
You are probably familiar with Your Survival Guy's Super States. In 2023, my top 10 Super States included: Rank State New Hampshire Florida Utah South Carolina Arizona Texas South Dakota Montana Idaho Wyoming But do you know about the Escape States? Those are the ten worst-ranked states on Your Survival Guy's annual Super States list. In 2023's rankings, that included: Connecticut Rhode Island Massachusetts Maryland New Mexico Hawaii New York Illinois California New Jersey New IRS data analyzed by the Tax Foundation shows … [Read more...]
Taxachusetts
Here’s yet another reason more homeowners will choose not to sell. What politicians don’t understand is money. Tax more of it and see it dry up. In "Taxachusetts," reports the editorial board of The Wall Street Journal, politicians want to tax high-end home sales by 2%. They write: ‘Affordable housing” is a noble goal and the mother of endless dim policies. The latest counterproductive effort is a push in Massachusetts to fund home construction by taxing home sales. Gov. Maura Healey recently gave her blessing to Bay State towns and cities that want to tax home sales. The Affordable Homes … [Read more...]
Rat City
It’s a shame what’s happening in cities across the country. And it’s not just in blue states. Marc Sternfield and Michael Bartiromo report in The Hill on America's rattiest cities: Orkin has released its 2023 list of the “rattiest cities” in the U.S., which ranks 50 of the nation’s busiest metro regions by “the number of new rodent treatments” performed over a period of 12 months. Specifically, Orkin studied new rodent treatments executed between Sept. 1, 2022, and Aug. 31, 2023, at both residential and commercial properties. Perhaps not surprisingly, Chicago was ranked as the No. 1 … [Read more...]
Texas Homebuyers Can Blame CA Politicians for Their Woes
If you're trying to buy a home in Texas, you can blame California’s politics for driving home prices to unaffordable levels. Adolfo Flores reports in The Wall Street Journal, writing: Texas has long had a reputation as an affordable place to live, in large part because homeownership stayed within reach for the middle class. Now the state is being walloped by the same forces that have made homes a lot less affordable in many cities previously known for reasonable prices: pandemic-era migration from California and other more expensive areas. California to Texas was the most popular … [Read more...]