A
recent New York Post article declared that, in a “staggering exodus,” in
2022, more residents of New York moved to Florida “than any other year in
history.” The article reveals,
A staggering 64,577 Empire Staters exchanged their driver’s licenses
for the Sunshine State version last year, according to figures from the Florida
Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
“They come in every day,” a staffer at a Jacksonville DMV office told
The Post this week with a weary laugh. “I hear all the complaints. I feel like
a therapist sometimes.”
The
transfer of a driver’s license from one state to another is considered a
reliable metric for relocation since such a decision suggests the move is a
lasting one. The 2022 exodus from New York to Florida is a 39% increase from
2019—the last pre-pandemic year—and an astounding 46% increase from 2017. New
York is far from alone in the exodus that is plaguing America’s blue states.
CBS
News also recently reported on “the states Americans
are moving to—and the states they are ditching.” According to the article,
The states that attracted the most new residents in
2022 are Florida, Texas, North Carolina and South Carolina, followed by other
states in the South and West…
Florida was the biggest net gainer last year, with
about 319,000 people migrating into the state, the NAR analysis found.
California lost the most residents, with 343,000 leaving the state for other
regions.
The
map below, using data from the National Association of Realtors, shows the “net
migration by population change” for each of the 50 U.S. states. As indicated on
the scale at the top of the map, blue indicates a net increase, while red
indicates a net decrease. The bluer states gained the most residents through
state-to-state migration, while the redder states lost the most residents. (Unlike
the image below, the map on the CBS News link above is interactive, so that
placing your cursor over each state shows the exact number for that state.)
As
the map clearly shows, quite unsurprising to those paying attention, liberal
states—those run by Democrats—dominate the states with a net loss in population
migration, while conservative states—those run by republicans—dominate the
states with a net increase in population migration.
In
what is almost certainly an effort to cover for Democrats, CBS News practically
ignores the politics of the Blue State Exodus and benignly points to “more
affordable housing and plentiful jobs [in red states]” as the main reasons for citizens
fleeing Democrat-dominated states. CBS News brushes off the idea that higher
taxes in blue states are contributing to this mass exodus, and they fail to
mention at all crime, COVID-lockdown policies, and the like, as reasons for the
growing number of “leftugees.”
Much,
and likely the vast majority, of the population loss in blue states, is due to those fleeing even higher-taxed, and more
crime-ridden large U.S. cities. If you live in a blue state but reside in a
rural area governed locally by those who are at least somewhat conservative,
then you can be shielded a bit from the consequences of leftist politics and
policies. However, if you reside in a large city within a blue state, then
almost certainly you are suffering under rampant leftism.
There’s
little doubt that higher taxes are indeed playing a major role in the Blue State Exodus,
however, crime is certainly contributing factor as well. As reported recently in The Tennessee Star,
shockingly, but again, unsurprising to those paying attention, 11 U.S. cities
were listed among the world’s 50 most dangerous cities. All 11 U.S. cities are
run by Democrats. Baltimore, Memphis, and Detroit are ranked in the top 20.
Crime-infested
municipalities run by Democrats is far from a new phenomenon. In the past decade
alone, I’ve written numerous columns detailing the crime and violence that plague the parts of America where the politics of Democrats reigns supreme and virtually
unchallenged.
Shockingly, as Fox News reported just last
month, in
2020, 73% of all murders in America took place in just 5% of U.S.
counties.
The ten counties with the most murders were:
- Cook County, Illinois, 775 murders
- Los Angeles County, 691 murders
- Harris County, Texas, 537 murders
- Philadelphia County, 495 murders
- New York City’s five counties, a combined 465
murders
- Wayne County, Michigan, 379 murders
- Shelby County, Tennessee, 311 murders
- Maricopa County, Arizona, 299 murders
- Baltimore City County, 291 murders
- Dallas County, 281 murders
Guess
what each of the counties have in common? If you said, “Democrat leadership,”
you would be correct! And it’s not even close!
Tens-of-millions
of American citizens suffering under the horrendous policies of Democrats continue
to put Democrats in power, at an alarming and overwhelming rate! This is
happening at the local, state, and national level. For example, as a result of the 2022
midterms,
in spite of crime, the COVID calamity (brought to you almost exclusively by
Democrats), incompetent national leadership, inflation, and so on, for the
first time in history, all county-wide offices in Shelby County, TN (home to
Memphis) are now held by Democrats.
Almost
certainly, many participating in the Great Blue State Exodus, would never vote
for a Democrat, or at least have seen the error of their electoral ways, and
will not be making the same mistakes in the future. However, just in case there
are “leftugees” who have yet to associate why they are fleeing their city or
state with the policies of Democrats, as you escape from your Democrat-run “craphole,” please also leave behind
any notion of ever again voting for a Democrat. Your new neighbors would
greatly appreciate it! Or, perhaps simply remain where you are, and stop
voting for Democrats!
(See this column at American Thinker.)
Copyright 2023, Trevor Grant Thomas
At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason.
www.trevorgrantthomas.com
Trevor is the author of the The
Miracle and Magnificence of America
trevorgrantthomas@gmail.com
