Fiscal Follies: Texas vs. California, Part VIII

I have a seven-part series (here, here, here, here, here, here and here) comparing Texas and California, mostly to demonstrate that the not-so-Golden State has hurt itself with excessive taxation and a bloated government. Today, we’re going to augment our comparisons by looking at a very practical example of how California’s approach is much worse. […]

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Texas vs. California, Part VII

To begin the seventh edition of our series comparing policy in Texas and California (previous entries in March 2010, February 2013, April 2013, October 2018, June 2019, and December 2020), here’s a video from Prager University. There will be a lot of information in today’s column, so if you’re pressed for time, here are three […]

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Texas vs. California, Part VI

I asked a couple of years ago, “How long can California survive big government?” Based on migration patterns, the answer is “Not much longer.” Simply stated, bad fiscal and regulatory policy have produced a long-run decline for the Golden State. So we shouldn’t be surprised that people are fleeing. And it appears Californians like escaping […]

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Texas vs. California

Time for another edition of our long-running battle between the Lone Star State and the Golden State. Except it’s not really a battle since one side seems determined to lose. For instance, Mark Perry of the American Enterprise Institute often uses extensive tables filled with multiple variables when comparing high-performing states and low-performing states. But […]

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Texas vs. California

California is like France. Both are wonderful places to visit. They’re also great places to live if you’re part of the elite. But neither is the ideal option for ordinary people who want upward mobility. Back in 2016, I shared Census Bureau data showing that income was growing much faster for people in Texas, especially […]

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Lessons from State Tax Policy: Kudos for Tennessee and Texas, Mockery for New York and California

Just like with nations, there are many factors that determine whether a state is hindering or enabling economic growth. But I’m very drawn to one variable, which is whether there’s a state income tax. If the answer is no, then it’s quite likely that it will enjoy better-than-average economic performance (and if a state makes […]

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What Can We Learn by Comparing the Employment Situation in Texas vs. California?

One of the great things about federalism, above and beyond the fact that it both constrains the power of governments and is faithful to the Constitution, is that is turns every state into an experiment. We can learn what works best (though the President seems incapable of learning the right lesson). We know, for instance, […]

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Texas vs. California

I’ve been pointing out the differences between California stagnation and Texas prosperity for quite some time. And since California voters approved a new 13.3 percent top tax rate last November, I expect the gap to become even wider. Simply stated, California is the France of America and Texas is the Cayman Islands of America. So […]

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Just Because California Is Terrible, that Doesn’t Mean Texas Is Perfect

Texas is in much better shape than California. Taxes are lower, in part because Texas has no state income tax. No wonder the Lone Star State is growing faster and creating more jobs. And the gap will soon get even wider since California voters recently decided to drive away more productive people by raising top […]

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Texas, California, and the Tale of the Coyote

I’ve already had a couple of blog posts commenting on how Texas is kicking California’s you-know-what. Being a fiscal policy person, I always point to California’s punitive state income tax as an example of bad policy and highlight the absence of any income tax in Texas to explain the success of that state. But sometimes […]

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Texas Thumps California

Texas has a small state government and no state income tax. California has a bloated state government and a punitive state income tax. Here’s a simple quiz: Which state is doing better? The answer is obvious, as Michael Barone explains: Democratic majorities have obediently done the bidding of public employee unions to the point that […]

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California Humor

I shared two columns of California-themed humor in 2022 (here and here), but none in 2023. For a 2024 version, let’s start with this Babylon Bee video. Since we started with a video about people escaping to Texas from California, here’s another example of refugees fleeing the state. In this case, it’s the Beverly Hillbillies […]

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Red States vs. Blue States, Part V: Florida vs. California

I’ve written lots of columns comparing Texas and California (see here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here), and also several columns comparing Florida and New York (see here, here, here, here, and here). We’ll break from that pattern today because we’re going to compare Florida and California, motivated by tonight’s Fox TV debate […]

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The Slow-Motion Suicide of New York and California

Two of the worst states for tax policy are California and New York. They have punitive income tax rates, high sales taxes, and myriad other ways of diverting money from the productive sector of the economy to finance bloated public sectors. I’ve written several time that greedy politicians in these states are driving away taxpayers. […]

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Florida vs. California

I have done eight columns comparing Texas and California and five columns comparing Florida and New York. But maybe it is time to compare Florida and California? If I do, there’s no comparison, at least based on how people vote with their feet. Even though California has the nation’s best climate and geography, the state’s […]

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Lessons from the Texas Budget

I shared some data last month from the National Association of State Budget Officers to show that Texas lawmakers have been more fiscally responsible than California lawmakers over the past couple of years. California politicians were more profligate in 2021 when politicians in Washington were sending lots of money to states because of the pandemic. […]

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In a Tweet, Everything You Need to Know about California

I wrote last week about the ever-expanding burden of government spending in California. And that was after writing two columns last year (here and here) about the state’s economic decline. But sometimes a specific story is more compelling than broad economic trends. So here’s a tweet that caught my eye. It tells us a lot […]

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California Humor

California is a beautiful state, but it seems politicians are trying to drive away people and businesses with terrible policies. And here’s a satirical video about the exodus. Our second item reminds me of the famous joke comparing coyotes in California and Texas. Next we have a grim look at the state’s possible future. For […]

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California’s Grim Future

I’ve been warning for many years that California is committing “slow-motion suicide.” I discussed the not-so-golden future of the Golden State as part of a longer interview with Chile’s Axel Kaiser. If you don’t want to spend a couple of minutes to watch the interview, the key takeaway is that California has lots of natural […]

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California Humor

I write frequently about economic policy in California, mostly to note that bad policy by politicians is offsetting the state’s natural advantages such as climate, natural resources, and topography. The net result is a slow-motion economic suicide, as measured by a gradual loss in competitiveness and unfavorable migration patterns. Today, we’re going to make similar […]

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California and Economic Suicide

I wrote back in 2012 that California voters opted for “slow-motion economic suicide” by voting to raise the state’s top income tax rate to 13.3 percent. Sure enough, having the nation’s highest state income tax rate has been bad news. More and more companies and households are leaving the (no-longer) Golden State for zero-income-tax states […]

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Laughing at California’s Economic Decline

Back in 2013, I wrote about Phil Mickelson escaping high-tax California and moving to zero-income tax Florida. The famed golfer grew up in California, but decided that the 2012 decision to boost the top tax rate to 13.3 percent mattered more than beautiful climate and wonderful scenery. Needless to say, Mickelson’s not the only tax […]

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Blue State Blues in California

If you’re a curmudgeonly libertarian like me, you don’t like big government because it impinges on individual liberty. Most people, however, get irked with government for the practical reason that it costs so much and fails to provide decent services. California is a good example. Or perhaps we should say bad example. The Tax Foundation […]

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What Lessons Can the Country Learn from California’s Red-Tape Nightmare?

From the perspective of lifestyle (factors such as climate, scenery, and recreational opportunities), there’s probably no better state in which to live than California. But if you want to be an entrepreneur, start a business, and create jobs, the Golden State is one of the worst places in America. I’ve already written about the state’s […]

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Adverse Consequences of California’s Class-Warfare Tax Policy

California is suffering a slow but steady decline. Bad economic policy has made the Golden State less attractive for entrepreneurs, investors, and business owners. Punitive tax laws deserve much of the blame, particularly the 2012 decision to impose a top tax rate of 13.3 percent. I’ve already shared some anecdotal evidence that this tax increase […]

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States Are Competing on Tax Policy and People Are “Voting with their Feet” against High-Tax States such as California

California is a lot like France. They’re both wonderful places to visit. And they’re both great places to live if you already have a lot of money. But neither jurisdiction is very friendly to people who want to get rich. And, thanks to tax competition, that’s having a meaningful impact on migration patterns. I’ve previously […]

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California Has Many Natural Advantages, but How Long Can It Survive Big Government?

In 2016, here’s some of what I wrote about the economic outlook in Illinois. There’s a somewhat famous quote from Adam Smith (“there is a great deal of ruin in a nation“) about the ability of a country to survive and withstand lots of bad public policy. I’ve tried to get across the same point […]

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Nightmare for New York and California: Tax Reform Will Put Added Pressure on High-Tax States

The right kind of tax reform can help people directly and indirectly. They benefit directly if reform reduces their tax burden and gives them more take-home income. They benefit indirectly if reform increases growth and leads to additional pre-tax income. For what it’s worth, I think the indirect impact is most important for family finances, […]

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California Secession Would Force West-Coast Leftists to Confront Reality

I’m not a big fan of Donald Trump, mostly because I fear his populist instincts will deter him from policies that we need (such as entitlement reform) while luring him to support policies that are misguided (more federal transportation spending). But I admit it’s too early to tell. Maybe my policy predictions on Trump will […]

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Trump Should Follow the Texas (or Hong Kong) Model of Small Government

I’m very happy that we don’t have a one-world government, but my views have nothing to do with conspiratorial fears involving blue helmets and black helicopters. Instead, I’m happy that there are lots of independent nations because that means lots of different approaches to public policy. And that means we have lots of real-life experiments […]

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