The slaves are revolting!

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I read this story about a wealthy New York businessman who can do simple math (h/t to Peter). He added up his sums, and discovered he could give himself a $5,000,000 a year raise.... simply by moving to Florida. That is the difference in tax load for him between the two states.

The man is not alone. Wealthy people have been abandoning high tax states for as long as I can recall, but in the last ten years the pace has accelerated exponentially. The exodus from California is breathtaking, only exceeded by the greed of those who would bleed their hard working neighbors to death. The halls of the Left State's senate ring with cries of "How DARE they take their money away from us!".

Locally, here in the green heartland of Pennsylvania, my own anecdotal evidence supports my suspicions. Immigrants from New York are common, and I've had opportunities to speak with quite a few about the reasons behind the migration. In each and every single case, at least in my experience, a common theme runs through the tale. High taxes, poor services, substandard schools, deeply entrenched corruption, and official arrogance all top the list of reasons many of our neighbors now have a funny New Yawk accent.

I've met doctors, professors, business owners, real estate investors... all having fled New York's breed of taxation without cessation. Now, the incoming wave has moved all the way down to blue collar professionals, and hardly a month goes by that I don't have an Ex-Yawker in my evening adult classes, seeking state licenses for inspection. Their attitude towards New York can best be summed up by one phrase I hear most often from them: "I ain't givin dem bastards anutter dime!"

Across the board, the states who move to punish people for working hard and earning money are the same states who are deep in financial trouble. Maryland recently learned the hard way... tax them, and they will leave. They can afford to leave, and will. Illinois, Ohio, Connecticut, New Jersey... all these states are seeing their wealthiest and most productive citizens voting with their feet, to the tune of 1100 families a day. 1100+ every single day... whose main goal in moving is to escape slavery. 1100 families a day, many whose income exceeds a million dollars a year, whose net worth is multiple times that..... the golden goose has taken wing, and left a parting gift on the heads of those who would enslave them.

Is slavery too strong a term for what some states want to do to their citizens? Yes, I think it must be... but only because slaves are not free to move away from their would be masters. Other than that, I see little difference. When the product of your labors is taken from you against your will, without compensation, then it's either theft or slavery or egregious taxes, and I am hard pressed to see the difference between them.