America, 2023: The Free States vs. The Rest

We’ve all seen myriad stories in the media about the mast internal migration that has taken place in recent years. This migration consists of citizens fleeing hgh-tax, Democrat-run states like New York, Illinois and California to relocate in low-tax Republican states like Texas, North Carolina and Florida. Obviously, it’s more complex than that, with many other states involved, but that general dynamic has been in play throughout the 21st century.

This table based on U.S. Census data illustrates the trend for 2022:

Due to the contrasting tax regimes in the losing states vs. the gaining states, the media simplifies this national trend as nothing more than an economic decision by those making the moves. While that is certainly a significant factor, things again are more complex than that.

In reality, what we are seeing developing before our eyes is a mass migration of freedom-loving Americans to freedom-protecting states. It is a fleeing from Democrat-run states whose governors and legislatures constantly seek new ways to limit personal freedoms to states whose governors and legislatures seek to preserve them.