Taxpayers in California and New York shoulder some of the heaviest tax burdens in the nation, and now new data show the two have something else in common: Their growth rates have slowed.
It’s probably no coincidence.
According to the California Department of Finance, during the year that ended June 30, more people left the Golden State than moved in — the first time that’s happened since 2010.
Its net population grew by 141,300, to 39.96 million. That’s a increase of just 0.35 percent, down from 0.57 percent growth over the prior 12 months. Together, the two years mark California’s smallest growth in more than a century.
One obvious reason: As the Los Angeles Times notes, the Golden State has one of the highest tax burdens in America.
Here in New York, meanwhile, taxpayers also bear some of the nation’s highest tax burdens. And guess what: This state has long been watching its share of the national population shrink.
No, taxes alone aren’t to blame: Both states, for example, are famous for their progressive policies, hostility to businesses and onerous mandates.
Gov. Cuomo even cites New York’s weather, versus, say, Florida’s — though chilly Midwestern states like Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Dakota aren’t facing significant chronic out-migration, and it’s not likely many Californians are fleeing for warmer climes.
Fact is, year after year, large majorities of the remaining voters in both states elect pols who push through yet more progressive policies, higher taxes and stiff mandates. Expect the rest to keep on voting with their feet.