It should
come as no great surprise that Hillary Clinton significantly
outperformed President-elect Donald Trump in Democrat strongholds like
California and New York — in some
cases by millions of votes.
While the
results of the election almost certainly ran a current of heartbreak
through these left-leaning states, it seems the top-ten states which
Hillary carried by the widest margins all have something else in common:
people are
clamoring to move out of them.
According to economic expert Stephen Moore, writing in the
Washington Times,
the reasons Americans are fleeing these states are all driven by
economics — namely, that they share the progressive values of “high
taxes rates; high welfare benefits; heavy regulation; environmental
extremism; high minimum wages.”
Here is an amazing
statistic. Of the 10 blue states that Hillary Clinton won by the largest
percentage margins — California, Massachusetts, Vermont, Hawaii,
Maryland, New York, Illinois, Rhode Island, New Jersey, and Connecticut —
every single one of them lost domestic migration (excluding
immigration) over the last 10 years (2004-14). Nearly 2.75 million more
Americans left California and New York than entered these states.
Here's
a more detailed look at what economic factors have been decimating the
economies while driving Americans and businesses to abandon the top-ten
liberal bastions which overwhelmingly supported Hillary Clinton in the
election:
Massachusetts
Image Credit: Getty Images
From 2005 to 2014, Massachusetts has seen a
net loss of 156,861 residents — meaning, more people are leaving than coming to the Democratic stronghold.
It’s
likely not coincidence that the state also implements an 8 percent top
marginal corporate income tax rate and has one of the highest property
tax burdens in the nation. Massachusetts is also one of the few states
where estate and inheritance taxes are levied.
California
Image Credit: Frederick J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images
There's no doubt that California's economy is huge (it's
roughly the size of France's), but it's also
considered the most unequal state in the nation.
Despite one of the
highest
minimum wages in the U.S., tech and Hollywood moguls enjoy a very
different life compared to everyday Californians — which could explain
why the state's seen a
net loss of nearly 1.3 million residents over the past decade.
Maryland
Image Credit: David S. Holloway/Getty Images
Maryland
ranks 44th in economic outlook for its 8.95 percent top marginal
personal income tax rate and 37th for its corporate income tax rate — a
double whammy for earners and businesses.
Maryland has only had
two Republican governors since 1969.
The state has experienced a
net loss of more than 145,000 residents over the last decade.
New York
Image Credit: Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images
With some of the highest personal and corporate income tax rates in the nation, New York ranked
dead last in ALEC's economic outlook — a position it's held six out of the last seven years.
It should come as no surprise that the state's residency has taken a nearly
1.5 million hit from 2005 to 2014, more than any other state.
Rhode Island
Image Credit: Kayana Szymczak/Getty Images
Rhode Island ranks 48th in economic performance and 35th in economic outlook, according to the ALEC study.
Some contributing factors might be its high property tax burden and sluggish state gross domestic product growth. The state's
net loss in residency over the last decade sits at about 70,000.
New Jersey
Image Credit: Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty Images
The
Garden State has some of the highest personal, corporate and property
taxes in the country. That’s largely why New Jersey ranked 48th in
economic outlook by ALEC.
New Jersey experienced a
net loss of roughly half a million residents from 2005 to 2014.
Connecticut
Image Credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
A
slow-growing state domestic product coupled with higher than average
tax rates lands Connecticut in 47th place on ALEC’s economic outlook
scale.
Over the last 10 years, the state has seen a total
net loss of 153,000 residents.
Vermont
Image Credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images
Ranked
49th in economic outlook by ALEC, Vermont also has the second-highest
personal income tax progessivity and plenty of newly legislated tax
changes to take more of its residents’ money.
Vermont's
residency has dropped by about 9,000 over the last decade.
Illinois
Image Credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
While
income tax in the state is actually reasonable, corporate taxes are
higher than average and residents get hit with a high property tax
burden.
The state also has a hard time keeping people from leaving. From 2005 to 2014, Illinois has experienced a
net loss of almost 700,000 residents.
Hawaii
Image Credit: Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images
The weather might be beautiful in Hawaii, but the taxes are not.
The
Aloha State has one of the highest top marginal personal income tax
rates and the highest sales tax burden, according to the ALEC study.
The
sunshine is also not enough to keep people from migrating away from the
state, which experienced a net loss of 36,000 residents from 2005 to
2014.
—
For what it's worth, Moore also
notes
that those states that had the highest percentage of voters come out
for Trump — including Wyoming, West Virginia, Oklahoma, North Dakota,
Kentucky, Tennessee, South Dakota and Idaho — have, in fact, seen gains
in net state population.
The rankings are based on a
thorough study
by American Legislative Exchange Council, which ranks the economic
health outlook of each state based on a myriad of economic data.
In
the end, it seems that Americans are putting more and more faith in
conservative-minded economics, and voting with their feet.
