The evidence is clear that if you want to live in a well-run state, you’re better off moving to a red one
A study by the non-profit group Truth in Accounting looked at the public financing and debt burdens of all fifty states, which have a total of $1.5 trillion in long-term debt. In blue states, there is an average of $22,214 in unfunded debt. In red states, that taxpayer burden is only $1,473.
Every day, roughly 1,000 people move from blue states to red states on net balance. That’s good news for red states. In 2013, Florida gained $8.2 billion in adjusted gross income from out-of-staters. Texas gained $5.9 billion in one year. And given the more business-friendly environment in red states, they tend to outperform their liberal counterparts in both population and job growth.
If you want a more extreme example, look no further than the most liberal state in the nation: California.
According to Politifact, which was rating the truthfulness of a statement from California Republican Chad Mayes that “California has ‘the highest poverty rate in the nation’ when considering the U.S. Census Bureau’s Supplemental Poverty Measure (adjusting for the cost of living),” California truly is now the poorest state in the nation.
From the report: “From 2013 to 2015, California had America’s 17th-highest poverty rate, 15 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Official Poverty Measure. That measure uses income levels to determine poverty, but does not consider differences in cost-of-living among states. It lists the official poverty threshold for a two-adult, two-child family at $24,036 in 2015.
During the same period, California had the highest poverty rate, 20.6 percent, according to the census’ Supplemental Poverty Measure. That study does account for cost-of-living, including taxes, housing and medical costs, and is considered by researchers a more accurate reflection of poverty. For a two-adult, two-child family in California, the poverty threshold was an average of $30,000, depending on the region in the state, according to a 2014 analysis by Public Policy Institute of California. Looking at state poverty rates, the second highest is Florida’s 19 percent, followed by New York’s and Louisiana’s shared 17.9 percent rate. The national average is 15.1 percent using the supplemental measure.”
The #1 recipient of migrants from California is Texas, which shows that residents are fleeing the most liberal state to one of the least. In practically every economic measure, Texas does the opposite of California, and it’s worked out extremely well for them.
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