Video NYC Mayor Mamdani dismisses 'imagined' wealth exodus from city New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani denied that wealthy residents were leaving his city over his proposed taxes or social programs during a Tax Day forum.
If you want to understand where America’s economy is heading, stop watching Washington and start watching a map of the United States.
Because the biggest economic story in the country right now isn’t politics.
People and, more importantly, money are pouring into what’s now being called the "Boom Belt" including states like Texas, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina and Arizona.
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Moving boxes are seen in front of a new townhome while other homes in the subdivision are still under construction as building material supplies are in high demand in Tampa, Florida, May 5, 2021. (REUTERS/Octavio Jones)
Meanwhile, high-tax blue strongholds like California, New York and Illinois are watching an uncomfortable trend unfold. Their taxpayers are leaving and taking their wealth with them.
Let’s talk numbers because this isn’t anecdotal.
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And here’s the kicker. The people leaving aren’t broke.
They’re high-income earners, business owners and retirees with assets.
That means when they go, they don’t just change zip codes.
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This may be politically inconvenient but it’s economically obvious.
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If you’re making $1 million a year, that could be as much as a $100,000+ annual difference.
That’s not a rounding error. That’s a second house, a business investment or a reason to move.
The people leaving aren’t broke. They’re high-income earners, business owners and retirees with assets.
Blue states often argue taxes fund services. Fair. But here’s the problem. If your best taxpayers leave, the math breaks. It’s like having a company and losing your best employees year over year.
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Meanwhile, cities in North Carolina or Tennessee offer:
And in a country obsessed with upward mobility, that matters more than ideology.
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Housing costs in California are often two-to-three times higher than Boom Belt states.
Blue states often counter with innovation hubs and talent pools and they’re not wrong. But we are having a fundamental shift in America. Talent is now mobile.
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States like Florida and Arizona are selling something powerful. A better daily experience at a lower cost. And you know what? People are buying it like hotcakes.
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Major companies have relocated or expanded in Texas and Florida. Manufacturing and logistics are booming across the Southeast.
That’s hard to compete with no matter how strong your economy is on paper.
The controversial truth blue states don’t want to hear
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They have a retention problem. Retention is everything.
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It doesn’t always create the wealth. It captures it by recruiting good people from blue states and coverting them to red states.
This is about red vs. blue. It is about incentives vs. outcomes.
States like Florida and Arizona are selling something powerful. A better daily experience at a lower cost. And you know what? People are buying it like hotcakes.
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The Boom Belt is winning because it’s built around a simple idea in capitalism system around creating good business ideas. Here’s the general business concept. Make it easier to earn, keep and grow money.
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Until blue states figure out how to balance their ambitions with that reality, the migration won’t slow down when we live in free market enterprise.
And neither will the shift in economic power. Because in America, people don’t just vote at the ballot box. They vote with their feet and their balance sheets. Every election turns out the same. It’s the economy stupid.
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Ted Jenkin is President of Exit Stage Left Advisors and Host of The Red, White & Green Show.
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