Authored by Simon Black via SovereignMan.com,
Every week in Notes, we highlight the most important things happening around the world that can impact your wealth and your freedom.
But there are so many more things happening than we’re able to cover in these pages. So, we’re trying something new today.
Once a week, we’re planning to share a collection of stories we think are important, scary, amusing or maybe all of the above.
You can find the first edition here. We’ve seen a current theme recently…
Lots of people are breaking up with their states… and finding ones that treat them better.
New Jersey, this is an intervention… you’re only hurting yourself
Record numbers of rich are fleeing New Jersey, including billionaire David Tepper who alone took hundreds of millions of annual tax dollars with him.
Yet the state continues to raise taxes.
When the governor called for the newest proposal, he specifically targeted and demonized millionaires.
He wants to apply the state’s top income tax rate of 10.75% to anyone making over $1 million per year. Currently only those earning $5 million or more pay that rate.
Slow your roll New Jersey… apparently these people love you (for some reason), but they aren’t going to continue enabling this behavior much longer.
I love New York (I just can’t afford the taxes)
We’ve said it many times before, reducing your tax bill is one of the easiest ways to boost your bottom line.
We also talked about how the Socialist backlash, led by New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, helped chase away Amazon–and millions of jobs, and billions of dollars–from New York City.
Turns out high New York City real estate taxes also chased away none other than AOC’s mom.
She now saves $9,600 per year on taxes living in Florida.
It’s not over until the dog moves out
Yes, sometimes you have to break up with your state, even if you used to love it. But that doesn’t mean the state is just going to let you go… after all, you’ve been through a lot together.
Wherever you move, bring the dog. Otherwise you’re just sending mixed signals. If you say you moved, but leave the dog in New York, New York still thinks you’re together.
With so many rich people moving out, New York is doing deep-dive audits to make sure you really moved out… or if you just added another residence for tax purposes.
And where the dog lived was the deciding factor in one recent tax case.
1% of California Taxpayers pay 50% of the taxes… so what if they leave?
It would take just a few thousand of California’s richest residents fleeing to cause a budget catastrophe from which it would be hard to recover.
Meanwhile, the state only has 12% of the country’s population, but over a third of US welfare recipients.
With the new federal tax law capping state and local deductions at $10,000 California is looking less and less attractive.
And into Arizona’s loving embrace they go
Most of the 122,000 people who moved to Arizona last year came from high tax states.
People are likely moving to Arizona because they have less restrictive business regulations than most states.
One area where Arizona does need improvement is in their excessive occupational licensing requirements.
But unlike New Jersey, which doubles down on failing policies, Arizona is reversing course to welcome professional newcomers.
Legislators are working on laws to recognize out of state professional licenses, reduce fees, and waive requirements for certain jobs like salon workers.
State power is a great Plan B for a collapsing Fed
During the government shutdown earlier this year, the Governor of Utah offered an obvious remedy.
He wrote an article arguing that the solution to the instability caused by government shutdowns is to give states their power back… the way it was always meant to be.
And this separation of power actually makes the USA more antifragile against major crises stemming from mismanagement, and corruption in Washington DC.
So make sure you’re living in a state that would thrive without the feds, if that shutdown ever becomes permanent.
And to continue learning how to ensure you thrive no matter what happens next in the world, I encourage you to download our free Perfect Plan B Guide.
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I currently live in a state that is ranked among the best for retirement, but it is clear that the democrats are poised to take over major political positions in the state government, and there are currently NO republican state legislators representing any of the districts that comprise the metropolitan area surrounding the state’s major city/capital (not that they can be counted on to support freedom, but with only two choices…). And then there is the extreme demographic issue.
But whatever state you look at, there are serious issues. Even in a state like Texas, that prides itself on certain things, one need only look back at folks like LBJ, Ted Cruz, Rick Perry, and others, to see that the state is no bastion of freedom or common sense.
The negative influence that Washington has over the nation, directly impacts the behavior of states. One can only wonder what sort of positive changes we might see at the state level without a federal government, and with each state competing for citizens and their contributions.
It teaches us to buy as much land (preferably heavily wooded with natural features that discourage intruders) surrounding our home as possible to be used as an asshole barrier or at least an asshole cushion. It also teaches us not to advertise that we own firearms, no election signs, have a crazed look in your eyes when in public, etc. Become that scary old guy whose stuff you didn’t fuck with when you were kids. “I hear that old man Goldfapper disappeared a game warden where he used to live, but they couldn’t find a body.”
Stucky would still be welcome, but he would have to speak broken German when we went to town… & maybe walk with a slight limp.
Dear liberals fleeing high tax states, stay out of Tennessee.
Please and thank you
Gatsby- The real estate market in TN is crazy. Hate to tell ya but the Yankees are already IN Tara in droves. Should have bought numerous houses in Nashville Ten years ago, I was convinced the crash was coming…..what do I know?? Nuttin’
Truer words have never been spoken.
Ratty- I don’t find you worthy of a single fuck to give for your opinion.
Oh, now don’t be like that.
You have a bad day, sweetpea?
The people fleeing the red states come to the blue states and turn them into the same kind of shitholes they ran away from.
did you accidentally flip red state/blue state here?
if you’re a true hard core rightist,come to fla.–low taxes,moderate weather,lots of outdoor activities,you’ll get to meet me–
come on down–
Cousin from MA and her family plus 2 2nd cousins and their families all in FL now; you sure you want all those people from up north? If you don’t like ’em what will you do then?
Man I miss the hunting, snowboarding, fishing, mountain biking….I enjoyed in CO for 40 years but even in my last small town, Canon City, the bastards in Denver & Boulder Counties made their idiocy felt.
For example, they mandated Excel Energy(a monopoly) to purchase 20% of it’s energy needs as “sustainable” energy. Excel could care less as they are guaranteed an 8%(?) ROI so if it costs more to provide solar, so what? (First thing I saw here in w Texas was a 60%+ drop in my electricity costs and let me tell you, it ain’t cheap melting glass)
Or legalizing reefer rather then just decriminalizing it. Or UnConstitutional gun control laws. Or ignoring as much as possible the one measure, TABOR, that restricted the state from massive tax increases. And on & on it went to the last election when a pole smoker who has promised free everything to be p[aid for by massive tax increases was elected.
Too bad, so sad.
And for the past 4 years here in TX I’ve watched in horror as this also once solid red state is slowly being turned purple by a flood of REgressive out of staters and a tsunami of illegals.
So once again, trying to stay ahead of the wave, I’m soon outta here. But 2 things. One, I love places like NC, KY & TN. But when my ultra REgressive sister says she’s had enough of Chicago and tells me her and her creepy husband are looking to move and rattles off those states, fuck me, I know she ain’t alone.
So I have my sights set on a state kinda off the charts when you hear about big swings in incoming. Solid red, one of the best places to own a weapon, low taxes, mild winters…oh, and I ain’t telling either.
Or Chile. But moving my glass working equipment would be out of the question so there’s that.
The elec utility will always go for new “sustainable” energy schemes as that allows a complete reset of their rate base. They don’t give a flying fuck how unreliable the new stuff is-it’s all about the rate base.
An guy I know in CO who does 5 month warm weather seasonal work goes to Ecuador with his wife for the long off season and they live like royalty there, as least as he describes it.