‘Our tax base has been eroded’: Governor begs rich people to move back to state, pay high taxes

Margaret Thatcher, before she was prime minister, said, “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.”

Taking that fact and applying it to several regions in the United States that have turned distinctly socialist in recent years proves it.

California, which now is facing competition from Colorado for being the state where extremism rules the most, is losing its millionaires and billionaires because of high taxes, and more planned.

They simply are moving to other locations where taxes are less destructive.

Reason reported, “The ultrarich are leaving California as a result of a proposed billionaire tax. ‘Eat the rich’ may be a popular rallying cry, but it’s not viable public policy.”

Seattle, also pursuing a socialist nirvana, is seeing the same movement. In fact, Starbucks founder Howard Schultz recently announced he’s moving to Florida, an announcement made just hours after the state advanced a new “millionaire’s tax.”

Likewise in New York, where families are suffering under an affordability crisis brought on by Democrat officials chasing socialism.

One report explained, “Families feel it every month in rent, child care, groceries, and commuting costs. The frustration is understandable, and it demands serious action.”

Avowed socialist Zohran Mamdani, the new mayor of New York, has made it a clear goal, to “tax the rich.”

But the rich are leaving these utopias and the problem is they take with them their wealth, their income, their assets, their industrial influence. And that means the states being left behind no longer can tax their income, their assets, their wealth and more.

Now New York Gov. Kathy Hochul thinks she’s come up with a solution that would make her happy.

Those ultra-wealthy should come back and pay taxes for her agenda.

Kathy Hochul making a weak plea for wealthy people who have left New York (to red states like Florida) to come back to pay their high taxes to fund failing (unaccountable) social programs:

“I need people who are high net worth to support the generous social programs we have in… pic.twitter.com/7quhsFyWyn

— Matt Whitlock (@MattWhitlock) March 18, 2026

“I need people of high net worth to support the generous social programs that we want to have in our state,” she demanded. “There are some patriotic millionaires who stepped up. OK! Cut me the checks. But if you want to be supportive, maybe the first step should be to go down to Palm Beach and see who we can bring back home.

“Because our tax base has been eroded. So, I, philosophically don’t have a problem.”

Mamdani wants property tax collections in New York City to be raised by some 10%.

Twitchy commented, “We sarcastically say ‘who could have possibly predicted this’ quite a bit, and examples of that are often sparked by Democrat-run states and cities who implement policies that people flee. At that point the lefty politicians then blame the people who fled instead of their insane policies (high taxes, soft on crime, etc.).”