The Washington Times has found that one way moving truck and van rentals are still very popular in California.
"California suffered the sharpest net loss of one-way movers for the fourth straight year."
Gov. Gavin (Blowdry) Newsom, D-Calif., may have denied the California exodus is happening during his ignominious defeat at the hands of Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., during their joint debate, but rent-a-truck-or-van companies don't lie.
And the total is significant. "According to the Census Bureau, roughly 342,000 more people left California than arrived in 2022."
That’s the equivalent of the city of Anaheim packing up and lighting out for the territories every year. If you add 2021 the total becomes 750,000 and that’s a Seattle-sized exodus.
Population loss in California is not a new development.
It’s been going on for decades and until recently arrogant formerly Golden State rulers could have cared less about the exodus of mechanics and salesmen heading to Texas.
That loss was more than compensated for by the people moving in to California.
The Los Angeles Times noted that the exchange between people with advanced degrees leaving California was balanced or even exceed by people with advanced degrees, and advanced incomes, moving into the state.
That positive trade balance is over.
The Los Angeles Times found, "What’s different is that in each of the prior two years, more than 250,000 Californians with at least a bachelor’s degree moved out, while an average of 175,000 college graduates from other states settled in California, according to an analysis of census data by William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution."
The income disparity between those leaving and those arriving is stark. (And we aren’t including any of the flood of illegals.)
"But by 2020-21, California transplants in Texas reported an average income of about $137,000, while tax returns from former Texans who moved to California showed an average income of $75,000.
"The income gap between those coming into California and those going out is even bigger when it comes to Florida, which, as far away as it is, has become a top five destination for emigrating Californians."
The income disparity is particularly important for a state like California where the legislature spends like money is produced by good intentions.
This year the state is facing a $68 billion budget deficit and those high earners would have come in handy since "California is heavily dependent on high earners to meet government fiscal needs. [and] The recent out-migration has been particularly pronounced among Californians with graduate and professional degrees."
And those fleeing the fleecing state are for the most part those in peak earning years: 35 to 44 years old.
Joel Kotkin, a fellow at Chapman University sums up the problem, "There’s a price to pay for the movement of middle- and upper-income people and corporations. People who are leaving are taking their tax dollars with them."
California is an expensive place to live.
High taxes, high property values and high crime in the larger cities.
The LA Times says the "premium to live in California may be 40% to 50% over the national average." And that doesn’t include homeowner expenditures on ammunition.
That is a lot to pay for nice weather and the occasional wild fire.
California is a case study that answers the question of whether incompetent government can negate the value of weather, ocean views and a formerly impressive infrastructure.
People with advanced degrees, advanced incomes and advanced angst are saying the answer is "Yes." And they are leaving.
Michael Reagan, the eldest son of President Reagan, is a Newsmax TV analyst. A syndicated columnist and author, he chairs The Reagan Legacy Foundation. Michael is an in-demand speaker with Premiere speaker's bureau. Read Michael Reagan's Reports — More Here.
Michael R. Shannon is a commentator, researcher for the League of American Voters, and an award-winning political and advertising consultant with nationwide and international experience. He is author of "Conservative Christian's Guidebook for Living in Secular Times (Now With Added Humor!)" Read Michael Shannon's Reports — More Here.