Americans Are Casting Their Votes--with Their Feet
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
by Merrill Matthews | Publications | PolicyBytes
It's Nov. 2 and Americans are going to the polls.
That fact has created a lot of excitement, as well as anxiety, that voters will send a message that they are dissatisfied with the past nine months of complete Democratic control in Washington.
But Americans don't just show their dissatisfaction with government overreach at the polls. They also show it with their feet, by fleeing mismanaged, high-tax, heavy-regulation states.
And we just got what you might call the "poll results" of that voting with their feet.
The Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M University just released an assessment of where newly arrived Texans came from during the pandemic. "More than one out of every ten people moving to Texas in 2020 was from California," according to the report.
The report also points out that has been the case for 19 of the past 20 years. The only exception was in 2005, when Louisiana supplied the most new Texans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Lesson: Only a historic natural disaster provides more new Texans than an endemic, multi-year political disaster like California.
It's also interesting to note where these fleeing Californians are moving to in Texas. The report says Travis County, which is Austin, is their top destination. And that makes perfect sense.
Austin has become a major technology hub, which would attract lots of Californians. The cost of living is also much more affordable than the Golden State, though that's beginning to change as new arrivals bid up the price of housing.
And Austin has a reputation as one of the more liberal cities in the state, which could appeal to some California ex-pats who want to retain their liberal inclinations, while the conservative state legislature and governor protect them from the higher taxes and more regulations that drove many of those Californians to Texas in the first place.
The media keep warning that Tuesday's election could be bad news for the Democratic agenda. But whatever voters do on Tuesday doesn't negate the fact that millions have already, in effect, cast their ballot—by voting with their feet.
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Just because...
Welcome to Texas.
Please leave your California politics in California.
Don't try to California our Texas.
Absofuckinglutely!!
You know they will...good luck.
Unfortunately, I think you are right.
Luckily, most congregate around Austin, so easy to avoid anyways.
Eventually they will spread their shit allover though.
I don't think so, there's just too much of Texas that dog just can't hunt in.
I don't know.
After all, California wasn't always the land of fruits and nuts.
Hopefully I'll be dead long before they take our fine state over.
Oh I see, these comments are just meant to be offensive.
See, that is the real difference between us and you. We are polite to everyone. You, not so much.
Come on, we BOTH know that is simply not true.
Top Ten Friendliest U.S. States - TheTopTens
The Friendliest and Rudest States in America in 2019 (audacy.com)
I'm sorry, but I have never seen out-of-towners being treated badly. People flock here from around the world and have a wonderful time. So no, and that was nothing but another comment meant to be offensive.
[Deleted]
LMAO, a poll from a country music station is supposed to mean something?
How can anyone rank NY? It is everything from totally rural to the biggest city in the US?
What facts?
You mean trolling comments like:
The only thing I find offensive is you must think I am dumb enough to fall for your schtick.
The same way they rank other states.
Almost every state has cities and rural areas, so NT is far from unique in that regard.
And I can cite other polls if it is necessary, but I have never met anyone who considered NY to be one of the friendliest states.
I have expressed no opinion on your intelligence. You are free to assume whatever you wish, but I say what I mean so false assumptions aren't necessary.
I never said friendliest. But you said:
Is that the average Texan's idea of friendly?
And I never said you did. Here is what I wrote EXACTLY:
"And I can cite other polls if it is necessary, but I have never met anyone who considered NY to be one of the friendliest states."
Please note the words "one of the friendliest".
People are welcome to Texas.
Some of their politics aren't as welcome, especially if they wish to remake Texas into something more like where they came from.
Just as I suspect people in New York would feel if a bunch of conservatives tried to make NY more like Texas.
And I'll stand by that.
Reasons to go to NY:
please note 14:
14. Mingle with New Yorkers
You can’t generalize about the people of a city that is made up of so many different nationalities, ethnicities, religions and classes. Still, an image remains of New Yorkers as abrasive, fast-talking, sharp-minded and always in a hurry. It’s not rudeness – it’s the pace of NYC life. On the whole, you’ll find that New Yorkers welcome you to their town and will happily give you directions or help you if you’re in trouble. It’s true – they’re the salt of the earth.
And you might find this surprising but NYer's don't obsess over politics. You don't need to show a blue card to get in.
Why on God's green Earth would I find that surprising??????
No state requires any card to get in.
No one has even made the argument that a state does that, so where is this coming from??
Oh dear god...
Nice to hear, but I think I'll stick with AZ.
Got kind of the same problem here...............
And Maryland and "Joisy"
Some progressive liberals wish to bitch about red states, but can never really explain why so many are fleeing overtaxed states like California, New York, and New Jersey.
Or why they enjoy being overtaxed.
California must be a great place to live if you are either very rich or an illegal alien.
For the rest--meh, not so good!
That's odd, since I don't see on that map NY or NJ leaving in droves.
New York lost a Congressional seat because of a lower population. That means more are moving out or dying than moving in and births.
I have never heard of anyone saying they would move to California or New York or New Jersey because of favorable taxes.
I have seen where high taxes are given as reasons to leave those states.
Just not to Texas. Trust me. North and South Carolina is siphoning them off. Banking and financial operations as well as tech jobs are like fly paper and the cost of living is a lot less............at least for now. That'll change
The photoshopper could have at least straightened the word California out.
You obviously didn't read the article. We lost it barely.
People move into NY all the time and they do so for opportunities in business.
And we here in NC gained a seat in the House.
Well, Perrie, actually, I did read it.
If more people moved into New York than left it, then you wouldn't have lost a seat, now would you?
And of course people move into and out of states ALL the time. No one is disputing that.
Jim, I am not saying that people are moving to N. Carolina, but they move there for many reasons. I have heard people I know who have moved south doing so because of affordable housing or jobs. NY is way overpriced for homes, but that couldn't be if there was no demand, so obviously there is.
You didn't or you would have just said wow, yeah I can believe you lost a seat because the state’s 2020 census population came up 89 people, or .00044 percent, short.
Normally that is considered statistically insignificant.
Or you are being disingenuous. Pick one.
And here in Texas we gained two new seats.
Pretty cheeky to accuse me of something you have no way of knowing one way or the other. Doesn't seem very friendly, don't ya know.
I'll leave that exercise in futility to you. You seem to have it cornered.
Well, if you read it you would have known we lost it by 89 people, right?
A loss of a seat is and always will be a loss of a seat. If my statement is inaccurate, prove me wrong.
That was not the context of this discussion. Your quote was:
And I pointed out that if you consider a net loss of 89 fleeing, you have an odd idea of what fleeing is.
Yeah, and I personally find that offensive. Holy stereotype.
If you knew what the "migration" from the northeast is doing to real estate prices you may not find it offensive. People are paying 10-15% OVER asking price making it terribly difficult for Joe Average to buy a home. They have sold their mega high priced homes up there and have plenty of money to put down on a home here and up until a couple years ago, real estate was fairly priced. And it isn't just real estate. And it isn't ALL New Yorkers so don't be.
Jim,
I have lived in the south when I was a kid, and come on, that is not what your sign is saying. I used to hear about not bringing my "NY ways" with me. Geeze, I was a nice respectful kid. Oh, and I can't tell you how many times I would get a "Bless your heart" for no reason. So that sign is nothing but an insult to NYers.
Real Estate is up everywhere. On Long Island, it has jumped 26% if you can even find a house. People are buying over asking.
The issue for southern states is when Northerners move in, the state becomes purple and that is what is at issue, isn't it?
North Carolina is trending more Democratic...
That may be true for some. The state has been screwed up since Cooper, the Governor, got elected and is on a power trip vetoing almost every sane piece of legislation that crosses his desk. Charlotte's city council is all but one Democrat and it's spend spend spend right up to and including practically doubling their pay this last year. And trust me. You are taking this waaay too personally. It isn't just NY. Maryland and Pennsylvania and Joisy are much of the problem.
I have no doubt you were a nice kid when you lived here and sorry but that is the way things were those years ago. There were still some sore asses over the Civil War LOL
That's the reason I avoid the Triangle as much as possible.
Colorado and New Hampshire have seen fifty years of pussification. I don’t know why the liberals can’t live with the monsters they created.
Because they need EVERYONE'S money to finance their giveaway programs.
I feel the exact same way about Florida. Unfortunately, there has been an influx of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut plates here in north Florida. Thankfully, they are on 95 headed south.
I believe it is almost too late for some of central Florida and much of south Florida, as that is where these snow birds that won't leave typically land.
It has gotten so bad that you have a hard time finding sweet tea south of Gainesville. Most places have that nasty raspberry tea crap. Yuck!!!
LMAO, now that is funny, since NYers have always been snowbirds to Florida, including my parents. They like the winter there, but still love NY.
And for the record, and your economy counts on that.
I don't think I said what you hallucinated I did.
I don't care if they come here for the winter, or any time of the year for that matter. That's fine.
It's those that come here, STAY here, then believe Florida should conform to northeast standards, even though they fled those states because of stupid high taxes.
If they want to come here to live, then again..fine...but don't turn the state blue simply because you voted democrat in New York, Jersey, or pretty much anywhere in the northeast. That only invites high taxes, high crime and inn er cities go to crap.
You do realize that you don't get to get it both ways. You can't get the benefit of increased revenue and then dictate how people can vote.
I live on Long Island. All of Suffolk county votes red and most of Nassau votes blue, yet we all manage to live together.
In PA they're known as front-platers. The state-run shooting ranges are choked with them on weekend mornings.
I am sure highly paid executives appreciate Texas not having a state income tax. The end result though is that Texas is becoming more liberal with the influx of corporate offices from the coasts. Like the rest of the country Texas is getting a lot browner and more liberal with each passing year, just a little bit faster now!
So do the vast majority of Texans. Kind of the point we are making--people leaving high-tax states and moving to more tax-friendly states.
Been hearing all about it for well over a decade now. Remember when Wendy Davis was going to turn Texas purple by running for governor---7 YEARS ago? BTW, she lost worse than her Democratic predecessor had, she lost by 21 points! Get back to me when Democrats can win at least ONE statewide office in Texas, then you may begin to have a point.
Trump won Texas by a much smaller margin in 2020 than he did in 2016. Bush won Texas by 20 percentage points in 2004. Trump barely won it. There is no escaping that Texas is turning blue!
Like I said, when you can show me a statewide race a Democrat wins here, you will actually begin to have a point.
"...Texas is turning blue!"
That's like saying America is turning Haitian. People won't fix their own shithole so they jump the wall and ruin what others have worked for.
The rest of us like that, too.
Texas has always been purple. Not much has changed.
It's not difficult to imagine a future where Latinos have taken over the Republican Party. Historically, Republicans certainly align more with their values.