The wealth exodus from states like New York and California to Florida is so strong that the Florida Chamber of Commerce estimates that about $4 million an hour is coming into the red state.
Florida Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Mark Wilson describes the condition of Democrat-run states as being in a “death spiral,” quite a contrast to how Republican states are attracting more business and residents. In fact, according to Wilson, Florida is an even bigger economy all on its own than the country of Spain now, ranking as the 15th largest economy in the whole world.
Wilson provided these facts and more while speaking to Fox News. “Part of the secret sauce in Florida is that we're all on the same page,” he explained to the outlet. “The business community, our elected leaders, we understand that economic growth — growing the private sector and shrinking the public sector — that's good for everyone in Florida. So we have 23.5 million people here, and we want to create economic opportunity and good jobs for everyone who wants to be in Florida.”
So long as Florida can keep the California and New York refugees from voting in the same Democrat leadership that ruined their previous states, the influx is likely to boost Florida’s economy and make the wealth gap between that state and blue states ever greater. “We have to look at everything from kindergarten readiness to, how do we cut childhood poverty in half?” Wilson said. “How do we make sure we have the best education system in the nation, the best legal climate, tax climate, regulatory climate, and the best quality of life of anywhere on the continent? And that's exactly what Florida's done.”
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Wilson described the change in terms of the stock market. “I always say, if Florida was a stock, I'd be investing everything I had in it. It's because of our economic diversification strategy and our focus on growing business and growing jobs,” he boasted.
Between 500 and 600 people are moving to Florida every day. The population shift began soon after the COVID-19 pandemic, as harsh lockdowns in blue states spurred residents to seek more free places to live. But the population shift only picked up as time went on.
Wilson bragged that Florida is already creeping up on Australia to surpass that continent/country, which is in 14th place in major world economies. By the year 2030, Wilson believes Florida by itself will be in the top 10 economies globally.
By trying to impose wealth taxes and making it impossible to run successful businesses due to overregulation, California and New York Democrats are actually losing money for their governments instead of gaining money. Wilson told Fox, “Florida leads the nation by a country mile [in income migration]. States like New York, Illinois, and California are losing over 1 million dollars an hour of income.”
He continued, “And so, if you look at the death spiral that New York is right now, for example, New Yorkers are looking at increasing income taxes, they're looking at increasing property taxes. Of course, Florida doesn't have an income tax.” That is a massive incentive to live in Florida.
Wilson explained how Florida actually brings in more revenue by having lower taxes, “The big economics lesson in America right now is Florida's tax revenue’s up… our tax rates have gone down. But people are relocating to Florida, they're moving their businesses here, they're investing in our communities... that's actually driving additional tax revenue.”
In conclusion, Wilson noted that from billionaires to ordinary workers seeking a better life, Florida is a good place to live. “People of all incomes, of all different backgrounds are relocating to Florida to work, to retire, to learn, to take advantage of our education system,” he stated. “Florida's actually delivering on the promise of freedom and free enterprise. If you've got a family that wants to thrive or a company that wants to thrive, I think people are realizing Florida's not just this idea and experiment. We're actually doing it and it's working, and I think that's what's most gratifying to me.”
It turns out that capitalism works and pseudo-socialism fails. Who could’ve predicted that?
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