Saturday, September 04, 2021

Will New York Come Back? Will New Yorkers?

The Wall Street Journal reports:
Like many New Yorkers, Eric Adams plans to head for a warmer climate this winter. But for him it’s a business trip. “On Jan. 2, 2022,” he says, “I’m taking a flight to Florida, and I’m telling all those New Yorkers that live in Florida—I’m telling them, ‘Bring your butt back to New York.’ ”
There's more:
Long a cold-weather bolt-hole for affluent New Yorkers, Florida became even more attractive last year as it quickly ended its pandemic restrictions. The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles estimated this July that 33,500 New Yorkers—many able to work anywhere with an internet connection—had made the move in the preceding 10 months. A real-estate firm’s analysis of postal change-of-address forms counted some 26,000 moves from metro New York to the Miami area in 2020.
The New York difference is a challenge
Mr. Adams, the Democratic nominee for New York mayor, expects to be sworn in on Jan. 1. He has good reason for wanting to win back erstwhile New Yorkers who’ve voted with their feet. Speaking by phone from the back seat of his car somewhere in his home borough of Brooklyn, he says he believes many of those who moved were “among the 65,000 New Yorkers who pay 51% of our income tax.” That is entirely plausible, given that New York City residents pay state and local income taxes at rates of up to 14.776%, while Florida has no income tax.
Expecting someone to pay 51% to government/governments is public sector greed.