We vote with our feet

Let's see what's wrong with New York: insane politicians, ultra-high taxes, regulations designed to stop everything in its tracks and terrible winter weather. Why would anyone live there?

These boots were made for walking, as the song goes. Unfortunately for New York, they’re walking right out of the state, with the latest Census figures showing Florida about to overtake us as the nation’s third-most-populous state.

The Albany-based Empire Center for Public Policy crunched the numbers and found that since 2010 New York has had a net domestic ­migration loss of 328,538 people....

Meanwhile, states such as Florida and Texas continue to attract people. It’s not just taxes prompting migration to their shores, though certainly the lack of an income tax in either the Lone Star or Sunshine state has to be a large part of the attraction. These growing states are also creating jobs, and generally offer a lower cost of living. And as a general rule, human beings do not move away from opportunity.

That’s what makes these Census numbers so telling. New York has much to offer, any advantages, including an economy roughly the size of South Korea’s and many world class industries. But the state’s taxes, heavy-handed regulation and generally anti-business ethos are making us less and less competitive by the day.