God Bless Texas
Hello, I’m Wayne Allyn Root for Personal Liberty. I’ve spent a lot of time
right here at
PersonalLiberty.com as a prosecutor laying out the
indictment of Barack Obama. But now it’s time to see the glass as half full.
It’s time to light the way to prosperity. Now I’m going to paint a picture of
how a country should be run. That example is the great State of Texas. If
you want to see how a country should be run; if you’re interested in
seeing your citizens succeed; and if you’re interested in creating opportunity,
mobility and the pursuit of happiness, all you need to do is look at Texas.
Facts don’t lie. It seems like everyone is moving to Texas,
the land of “Wild West Cowboy Capitalism” –especially residents of high
tax-and-spend States like California,
New York, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, Connecticut,
Illinois and Michigan. From
2000 to 2010, a staggering 3.4 million people moved out of New
York, resulting in a net loss of 1.3 million
residents. California was a close
second with a net population loss of 1.2 million during the same decade.
During that same time, Texas
led the Nation in net population growth. A remarkable 551,914 new Texans
came from one State: California.
They brought with them $14.3 billion in income. In just one year (from 2009 to
2010), 48,877 Californians moved to Texas,
bringing with them $1.2 billion. But even that paled against the almost $1
trillion in assets and income that relocated New Yorkers brought to the Lone
Star State.
Wow!
So why is everyone running for their lives from New
York and California?
And why are so many of them heading to Texas?
The answers are taxes, regulations and quality of life — in other words,
government interference in their lives or, in the case of Texas,
minimal interference. It’s no coincidence that New
York has ranked first or second in the Nation for tax
burden every year since 1977.
In addition to State income, property and sales taxes, New
York has a whopping 49 cents per gallon gas tax and
the highest estate and gift taxes in the Nation. After grabbing more of
your money than any State while you’re alive, New York
also steals more of your money after you’re dead — with estate taxes. I should
know; I left New York 25
years ago and never looked back.
But California couldn’t stand
to be No. 2. Those Hollywood socialists are so
competitive. Not to be outdone by New York,
last November, California passed
the highest State income taxes in America.
You can almost hear the liberals shouting: “We’re No. 1!” Yes, the State is No.
1 in taxes, but it’s also No. 1 in people running for the exit — especially
high-income earners and high-net-worth individuals. Be careful what you wish
for.
California not only leads the
Nation in taxes, it is also the worst State for excessive rules and
regulations. It’s no wonder so many people are escaping California.
I should know; I left California,
too.
Lest you think this is some kind of fluke or that taxes are not the
determining factor in this “escape from New York
and California,” it isn’t just Texas
that is gaining all these fleeing residents. The U.S. Census Bureau reported
that all of the top 15 States for population growth during the past decade are
no-tax or low-tax States. And since the 2010 census, Texas
dominates the list for fastest-growing cities, with eight of the top 15.
Remarkable.
It seems Americans are smarter than politicians give them credit for. They
are voting with their feet for lower taxes, pro-business attitude and more
economic freedom.
Because no State in the union has a better economy, let’s look “up close and
personal” at the Texas miracle.
What
exactly is “Wild West Cowboy Capitalism” and why does it
work?
Texas has zero State income
tax, zero capital gains tax and zero death tax. It is a “right to work”
State where employees may choose to join a union, but are never forced. It
is a pro-business and anti-lawyer State, passing both landmark medical lawsuit
reform and America’s
first “loser pays” lawsuit reform. The results of the medical reforms? Lawsuits
dropped by 70 percent. Twenty-five thousand doctors moved to Texas.
Medical liability insurance rates dropped by as much as 50 percent. Texas
is also one of the most difficult States in which to file class action
lawsuits.
Quite simply, Texas treats
businesspeople and taxpayers nicely. The State offers more business incentives
($19 billion) than any other State.
On the other hand, Texas is
tightfisted with taxpayer money. They pay the least generous welfare and
entitlement benefits. California
is the exact opposite. They are the welfare capital of America.
California has one-third of the
Nation’s welfare recipients. Why? Because California
pays the most generous welfare benefits in the Nation: $179 per citizen
compared to $32 per citizen in Texas.
Texas is also tightfisted with
its government employees. California
government employees are paid 25.2 percent more on average than State
employees in Texas. California
has the highest-paid teachers in America,
while Texas pays its teachers far
less. Yet the high school graduation rate is higher in Texas
than California. Texas
runs its government far more efficiently.
Texas has a balanced budget
amendment. By contrast, California
owes an astounding $167 billion. The result is people with high incomes,
assets and ambition are moving into Texas,
while those who lack work ethic and feel entitled to handouts are moving
out. Good luck to New York
and California. We’ll see you in
bankruptcy court.
One of the ways this has been made possible is that the Texas
State constitution limits the time
politicians can meet to 90 days
every other year. That
explains everything. Texas, like
my adopted home state of Nevada,
has low taxes and the fastest growing population because politicians aren’t
allowed to sit in their seats all year long thinking of new ways to
redistribute income, impede business and destroy jobs.
Just look at the remarkable results of favoring hard-working business owners
and job-creators over entitlement addicts and lawyers. The annual Texas
economy has passed $1 trillion, accounting for 8.3 percent of the entire U.S.
economy. It is second largest in America
and 14
th largest in the world — equivalent to Russia.
How about jobs? Feast your eyes on these statistics: Since 2007, one-third
of all jobs in America
were created in Texas; and in the
past decade, more jobs were created in Texas
than in the other 49 States
combined. Texas
is where three out of every five jobs created in America
since 2007 were created.
Even more amazing is the kind of jobs Texas
has been creating. They have created the most private-sector jobs in the Nation
and eliminated government jobs — the kind that cost taxpayers big money.
According to
CNN/Money, Texas
for the first time has more Fortune 500 headquarters than New
York. Texas
is also home to six of the top 50 Fortune 500 companies.
At the same time, Texas
displaced New York as the second
largest economy in this country. Texas’
economy had the most explosive growth in all of America
for the past 50 years, while California’s
economy has been among the worst.
Texas’ fiscal condition is
sound. California, New
York, Illinois and all these
other high tax-and-spend States careen from crisis to crisis, always on the
verge of bankruptcy. Business flourishes. Here’s an example why.
California-based CKE Restaurants has more
than 3,000 restaurants, including Carl’s Jr. and Hardees. Its president, quoted
in
The Wall Street Journal, called his home State of California
business-unfriendly and noted that opening a restaurant in California
takes two years and costs $200,000 more than opening one in Texas,
where it takes only six weeks. Is it a surprise that CKE
has stopped opening new restaurants in California,
but plans to open 300 in Texas? Chevron
must have gotten the same memo. It recently announced it is moving 800
high-paying employees (one quarter of its workforce) from California
to Houston.
Still unconvinced? Ask the CEOs of America.
In
Chief Executive magazine’s annual poll (the one that ranked California
dead last in America
for business for eight consecutive years), Texas
has been ranked No. 1 for those same eight straight years. And
CNBC
just ranked Texas as the top
State in America
for business for 2012 — the third time it’s been ranked No. 1 in six years.
Texas recently passed its 2013
budget. Texas cut taxes and
spending, and it wound up with a record-setting $8 billion budget surplus.
Congratulations to Governor Rick Perry.
Now you know why all my exes live in Texas.
I’ll bet all your ex-business partners and ex-friends do, too. Now you know how
to save America.
Just follow Texas; it’s that
simple. Now you understand that businesses, as well as people, choose
States that treat them better, give them more economic freedom and allow them
to keep more of their own money. Imagine that?
The results of smaller government, restrained politicians and lower taxes is
dramatically increased wealth, job creation and citizens with a higher quality
of life. God bless Texas. The
solution to saving America
is to do the opposite of everything Obama does. Texas
proves it works.
By the way, my Texas friends
want everyone to know: “Come on down, ya’ll are welcome. Just leave your
socialist politics at home.” I’m Wayne Allyn Root for
Personal Liberty.
