Blue-state Democrats are in a bind. They support a more equitable tax system, but fear, with some justification, that they and their party will be blamed if higher state taxes cause their wealthiest residents and their state economies to “head south,” literally and figuratively.
They say “with some justification,” but what is that justification? Is there evidence that higher taxes causes wealthy residents to leave AND that that has negative consequences for the broader economy?
Yeah, this feels like a made up reason (it is). What working-class voters do they think are going to be like “boy, you know who I miss? The billionaire who used to live up the bloc!”
If you leave a state/city because they raised taxes, it stands to reason that the reason you were there in the first place was because they had lower taxes. It doesn’t matter how much private wealth you have, you leaving or staying has very little impact on the people who live in a low-tax area. This is very basic logic
“boy, you know who I miss? The billionaire who used to live up the bloc!”
The implication is not that they’ll be missed, it is that they will just not pay taxes in another region, which does nothing but rob your current region of whatever tax dollars they’re currently paying.
So what if the rich leave? They’re not paying taxes, who needs them? The need for vendors and contractors doesn’t go away when the wealthy leave. The economy goes on. Someone will take their place and pay taxes and not bitch about it so much.
They say “with some justification,” but what is that justification? Is there evidence that higher taxes causes wealthy residents to leave AND that that has negative consequences for the broader economy?
Just like all the billionaires in NYC that fled when Mamdani took office? All 0 of them?
Yeah, this feels like a made up reason (it is). What working-class voters do they think are going to be like “boy, you know who I miss? The billionaire who used to live up the bloc!”
If you leave a state/city because they raised taxes, it stands to reason that the reason you were there in the first place was because they had lower taxes. It doesn’t matter how much private wealth you have, you leaving or staying has very little impact on the people who live in a low-tax area. This is very basic logic
The implication is not that they’ll be missed, it is that they will just not pay taxes in another region, which does nothing but rob your current region of whatever tax dollars they’re currently paying.
You’re describing a Laffer Curve. Nowhere in the USA is anywhere close to those diminishing returns.
I have no idea what you’re talking about. I haven’t described any curves.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laffer_curve
So what if the rich leave? They’re not paying taxes, who needs them? The need for vendors and contractors doesn’t go away when the wealthy leave. The economy goes on. Someone will take their place and pay taxes and not bitch about it so much.
the fear isn’t that a rich person leaves. the fear is that a large employer moves and takes all those jobs with it.