Just for the record I don’t think that the consequences of the cap on deductibility of state and local taxes will be that the ultra-rich desert California, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, etc. in droves. I think it will be that those states will increasingly come to resemble Mexico from a social and economic standpoint. The middle class and merely well-to-do will leave those high tax states, leaving a small cohesive upper class, a large cohesive lower class, and a much reduced and struggling middle class.
If that’s the sort of society you want to live in, rejoice! It’s on its way.
Maybe, but those states have had high taxes for a long time and have done well most of that time. For example, people bitch about the higher taxes in New Jersey all of the time. Then I go over there and compare their schools to ours in PA. No comparison. Remember that so far this is mostly retirees moving away. People that live in New Jersey really like the place. Finally, if we turn New York into Mexico, what do we call Texas and those other low tax states? It strikes me that they already have the two tiered society that you posit, but run even more for the benefit of the wealthy. That middle class moving there, assuming it is ever more than retirees, is going to find a much different world. Also, if it remains mostly retirees, how much do those state benefit from having them there? They aren’t working or creating stuff. They aren’t paying much in taxes.
Steve
steve, you keep saying that but in Illinois it’s not true. The people who are leaving are of prime working age.