XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, sac.politics   
   From: j_d@invalid.org   
      
   In what is sure to be one of the biggest real estate deals of the year,   
   Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is reportedly relocating to Florida,   
   becoming just the latest California billionaire to flee the Golden State   
   for the Sunshine State following a proposed five-percent wealth tax. But   
   the uber-rich aren’t the only ones relocating for more favorable   
   conservative policies – millions of everyday people are as well.   
      
   New data from the U.S. Census Bureau and moving company U-Haul shows   
   that Americans are “voting with their feet” at a rapid clip – and the   
   results are ugly for Democrats. Of the top 10 states for net positive   
   domestic migration, seven are run by a Republican governor and   
   legislature. Of the other three states, one has a Republican governor,   
   but Democrat legislature (Nevada), and two have a Democrat governor but   
   a Republican legislature (North Carolina and Arizona).   
      
   Perhaps even more importantly, of those top 10 states, four have no   
   state income tax, while all are considered low-tax states.   
      
   Meanwhile, of the worst ten states for net negative domestic migration,   
   nine out of ten are Democrat strongholds. The three worst are the three   
   states most associated with far-left governance – California, New York,   
   and Illinois. Unsurprisingly, these states are also associated with   
   enormously high state tax burdens.   
      
   https://static-asset.amac.us/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/11093624/PictureX   
   .jpg   
      
   As reported by National Review, of the 22 states with the   
   fastest-growing populations, 17 are solidly red, suggesting again that   
   voters prefer Republican governance. Meanwhile, “the five states that   
   lost population were mostly deep blue — Vermont, Hawaii, West Virginia,   
   New Mexico, and California, with New York just barely breaking even.”   
      
   The Census data is backed up by similar results from moving company   
   U-Haul, which tracks the use of one-way rentals as a proxy for someone   
   switching states.   
      
   The U-Haul Growth Index found Texas is the fastest-growing state,   
   followed by Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee, and South Carolina.   
   “Florida, North Carolina and Tennessee follow Texas as prime   
   destinations,” the report stated. “It’s the same top five from 2024 and   
   2023, although in a different order.”   
      
   That consistency suggests that Americans are looking for the stability   
   provided by a growing economy and low taxes – hallmarks of Republican   
   governance. Washington, Arizona, Idaho, Alabama, and Georgia rounded out   
   the U-Haul top 10.   
      
   On the other end of the spectrum, California ranked last “with the   
   greatest out-migration number for the sixth consecutive year,” followed   
   by Illinois, New Jersey, New York, and Massachusetts. New Jersey is an   
   anomaly in that it saw new growth but also saw people leaving the state   
   with one-way rentals.   
      
   It is not a perfect one-for-one match to say only Republican states are   
   thriving while only Democrat states are dying, but it is fairly close,   
   according to commentator Dan McLaughlin.   
      
   “Not every red or blue state pursues the same mix of policies, has the   
   same weather or demographics, or relies upon the same mix of   
   industries,” McLaughlin wrote in National Review about the U-Haul data.   
   “Still, the overall pattern remains clear and consistent, and has for   
   some time.”   
      
   Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) argues the burdensome taxes in blue   
   states are driving residents away while low-tax states, mostly   
   controlled by Republicans, are drawing in residents.   
      
   “The U-Haul annual report lets everyone see which states are failing and   
   which are succeeding as judged by actual Americans,” ATR President   
   Grover Norquist said.   
      
   The taxpayer advocacy group also pointed out that right-to-work states,   
   meaning places where workers are not forced to join a union as a   
   condition of employment, also experienced higher rates of growth. In   
   other words, low taxes and worker freedom are attracting citizens,   
   likely because of the economic benefits those policies create.   
      
   The growth in these states could also have broader national implications   
   for future national elections. Seats in the House of Representatives are   
   apportioned every ten years based on the population of each state. In   
   turn, Electoral College votes are divided up based on how many senators   
   and representatives a state has.   
      
   That spells trouble for Democrats in the long-term and could help   
   Republicans if red states continue to grow – and don’t see the political   
   demographics change. States that voted for Trump in the last election   
   are projected to gain 11 more U.S. House seats, and by extension 11 more   
   Electoral College votes after 2030, according to the American   
   Redistricting Project.   
      
   Solidly Democrat states like California and Illinois, meanwhile, would   
   lose U.S. House seats as well as Electoral College votes. Those losses   
   in Democrat states could “turn a 270–268 Democratic map into a 279–259   
   Republican map,” McLaughlin writes.   
      
   Of course, nothing is certain, and it is possible a Democrat candidate   
   could win a state like Florida or Texas in the future if people fleeing   
   California bring their voting preferences with them. However, one thing   
   is clear – Americans want to live in places with low taxes and fewer   
   regulations, and they are willing to uproot their lives to do so.   
      
   The Founding Fathers envisioned the states as “laboratories of   
   democracy.” In that grand experiment, it is becoming clearer with each   
   passing year that Democrats are failing.   
      
   https://amac.us/newsline/economy/red-states-booming-as-americans-flee-hig   
   h-tax-democrat-strongholds/   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)