Wall Street Mav dropped this chart (above) that should make every productive American smile. Red states (the 31 that backed Trump) gained $37.2 billion in adjusted gross income from people moving in during 2022–2023. They also picked up nearly half a million net new residents. Blue states (the Harris crowd plus D.C.) lost $40.8 billion and more than half a million people.
That’s not a trickle. That’s a flood of the most productive taxpayers voting with their feet. As Sgt Pat here at Whatfinger News loves to say, ‘The United States is quickly dissolving into Free States vs High Tax-Slave States’
Here’s the punchline that makes it even better. The blue states’ response to losing their best earners? They are raising taxes even more. Not cutting. Not competing. Just digging the hole deeper while the U-Hauls keep rolling south and west. They are firmly in control and without Federal intervention to stop voter fraud, the Marxists now rule with an iron fist in California, New York, Michigan, Oregon, Illinois and Washington, so far. These states are actual dictatorships, at least politically. The ONLY thing that separates them and the truly despotic nations is citizens can still leave freely. Almost. As the most Marxist states consider their citizens THEIR tax slaves, and if you dare move away, they will continue to punish you with yearly notices of more and more taxes owed to the Democrats and your former state. This scam is getting out of hand now and we have reported how these con-artist Democrats send the notices for years long after you move away. They think they own you.
The Great Sorting Is Real — and It’s Not Slowing Down
California, New York, Illinois, New Jersey, and Massachusetts have been bleeding residents for years. California alone keeps losing well over 200,000 net domestic migrants almost every year. Recent Census estimates show the same pattern continuing into 2024–2025. New York and Illinois are right behind them.
Where are these people going? Florida. Texas. North Carolina. South Carolina. Tennessee. Arizona. The free-market Republican states. Even though Arizona is still currently Deep State controlled via fraud at the polls. Florida and Texas alone sucked in tens of thousands of households and billions in taxable income in the latest IRS data. South Carolina, North Carolina, and Tennessee are right there with them.
This isn’t random. High-income households are the ones most likely to leave the high-tax states. When the people who pay the bills walk out the door, the remaining taxpayers get stuck holding a bigger bag of government promises.
High-Tax Slave States vs. Free States
Call them what they are. The high-tax blue states have turned into high-tax slave states. They treat successful people like walking ATMs. California’s top income tax rate sits at 13.3%. New York and New Jersey pile on high income taxes, property taxes that feel like rent to the government, and endless new fees. Then they act shocked when the ATMs move to Florida or Texas, where there is no state income tax.
Meanwhile, Republican-led states are racing in the opposite direction. Dozens of them have cut income tax rates, flattened brackets, or put themselves on a path to eliminate the tax entirely. Kentucky, Idaho, Mississippi, Indiana, and others keep lowering rates. The Tax Foundation’s 2026 State Tax Competitiveness Index tells the story clearly: the top spots are dominated by low-tax, free-market states (Wyoming, South Dakota, Florida, Texas, Tennessee). The bottom of the list is a blue-state hall of shame (New York, New Jersey, California).
It’s simple economics that somehow confuses progressive politicians. If you punish success, successful people leave. If you reward it with lower taxes and less red tape, they show up with their jobs, their businesses, and their tax dollars.
The Blue State Strategy: Raise Taxes, Lose People, Repeat
Instead of competing, blue states double down. New York extends high corporate rates. California looks for new ways to squeeze more revenue. Illinois keeps finding creative new taxes. They act like the solution to people fleeing high taxes is… higher taxes. It’s like a restaurant raising prices while customers walk across the street to the place with better food and lower bills.
The result is a self-reinforcing cycle. Lose productive taxpayers → budget pressure → raise taxes or invent new ones → lose more productive taxpayers. Rinse and repeat.
Red states are doing the opposite. They are competing for residents and businesses the old-fashioned way: by making it easier and cheaper to live and work there. That’s why the economic energy in America is shifting to the South and the interior.
MAGA America Is Winning the Migration War
This is bigger than tax rates. It’s a quiet realignment of the country. The states that rejected the high-tax, high-regulation, soft-on-crime model are growing. The ones that embraced it are shrinking relative to the rest of the nation. Political power follows people and money. Over time, the House of Representatives and the Electoral College will reflect this shift.
Americans are not dumb. They notice when their paycheck gets lighter while the streets get dirtier and the schools get worse. So they leave. And when enough of them leave, the states that treated them like hostages start to feel the pain.
The free-market Republican states are not perfect. No place is. But they understand a basic truth: people respond to incentives. High-tax slave states still haven’t figured that out. They keep raising the price of living there and then act surprised when the customers check out.
The chart from Wall Street Mav is just the latest scoreboard. Red states are gaining the most productive citizens. Blue states are losing them. And instead of changing course, the blue states are stepping on the gas in the wrong direction.
America is dividing into two very different countries. One is trying to keep its best people by treating them like free adults. The other is trying to keep them by taxing them harder. The moving vans are already choosing sides. If President Trump does not get the Save America Act passed, the lunacy that controls the Blue States will spread like a disease, just as the Biden Admin had done. Open borders, less freedom, higher taxes for all, and YOU, the American citizens get the pay for it all, including the nice mansions and expensive cars of our overlords in the Democrat Party and Deep State.
- The Whatfinger News Team: Beth and Lisa
Resources
- Wall Street Mav’s original post and chart at X
- Tax Foundation 2026 State Tax Competitiveness Index
- Tax Foundation analysis of IRS migration data (2022–2023)
- IRS Statistics of Income Migration Data
- Fox News report on Americans moving billions in income to Sun Belt states
- Census Bureau state population estimates
- WSJ: Red and Blue States Are Growing Further Apart on Income Tax
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