Posted on 08/21/2011 5:07:25 AM PDT by lowbridge
I hear this view expressed frequently here in NC, and on Free Republic (several on this thread have agreed with your comment). But I'm not so sure I agree. It's not a random cross-section of people who are leaving blue states; rather, there's a higher proportion of entrepreneurs, management-level corporate relocations, and relatively prosperous retirees. To be brutal about it, those who can leave New York do, in increasing numbers. Most of those on the dole, or public employees, or union members, tend to stay put. I expect the blue states to get bluer, but there's little evidence that blue-state escapees are "infecting" the rest of the nation to any great degree. There are, of course, exceptions (well-off Jewish New Yorkers who retire to south Florida, for example, tend to retain their inexplicable liberalism), but a lot of blue-state escapees seem to be quite conservative.
Evidence? Well, I live in Union County, NC, on the southeast fringe of the Charlotte metro area. It is the fastest-growing county in the state in percentage terms, and much of that growth has been fueled by new residents from "up north" -- Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York. Lots of new Catholic churches and schools; the sports bars are packed with Steelers and Jets fans; bagel shops are proliferating. But is Union County lurching to the left? Let's look at a couple of Presidential election results for Union County...
1976: Carter (D) 10,578 (62.4%), Ford (R) 6,184 (36.7%), other 78 (0.5%)
2008: Obama 31,189 (36.2%), McCain 54,123 (62.9%), other 777 (0.9%)
Two things are immediately evident: 1) the explosive population growth, as the total votes cast more than quintupled in 32 years from 16,840 to 86,089; and 2) the strong swing to the GOP as Union County transitioned from rural to exurban/suburban. It should be noted, too, that 2008 was a bad year for the GOP; W. pulled 67.6% and 70.2% of the Union County vote in 2000 and 2004 respectively.
Most people think the South starts at the Potomac. Well due to certain personages in Northern Virginia the South now starts at the Rappahannock.
I must admit my evidence is anecdotal and not statistical. I have a number of NY yankees as neighbors. Generally speaking, they are liberal and quite rude. Whatever pops into their sweaty little brains comes out of their mouths.
This Ex UPSTATE New Yorker left in 1989 and HAS NEVER looked back.
Nelson Rockefeller started the destruction and Mario Coumo finished it off.
I’ve lived south since, HAPPILY live in Texas and I am proud conservative.
The ONLY grief I get in Texas is rooting for Orange as in Syracuse Orangemen.
The chiggers! You didn’t mention the chiggers! New Yorkers would hate them.
It’s not just NY, Memphis people flee to the surrounding counties in both MS and TN because crime and taxes are so high, and schools suck.
Now that Memphis has surrendered it’s school charter, the county has to pick it up, and in 3 years Memphis, who out number county residents 3-1 will be running that school system and you will see flight out of Shelby county, and it is not just White flight, it’s black too. We are all fed up with more taxes, bad schools and high crime and looking for some place that lacks those things.
Republics decline into democracies and democracies degenerate into despotisms. Aristotle
Trust me, it used to start at the Hudson ...
If New Yowkers have no place else, they can come on down to the Missouri Ozarks. We have turkey and deer (and pheasants just north of us) plus great year round fishing. Cost of living and taxes are low. Shoot fireworks and your guns anytime.
Just bring your Yankee money...
Cancer cells on the republic.
Probably due to massive voter fraud near college campuses and seedy neighborhoods.
Here in New England, the liberal Blue zone is bigger than average, but with a big Red splotch in the middle, comprised of Central Massachusetts, most of New Hampshire, Western Maine, and the "Northeast Kingdom" of Vermont. The rest sucks. Loved your line about "Deliverance", by the way. Damn near spat my chew.
A half century ago when things were dicey in NYC many of the corporations fled to Grenwich, Ct. They put a bronze plaque on the door of their office in NY - to maintain a presence - and took their executives up to CT. Then they realized Grenwich was too close to Bridgeport so they started moving their executives south and now out of the country.
It’s probably safer for execs of large hated insurance and investment companies to be out of the country - out of the reach of SEIU’s bussed in goons.
You are falling for the trap. The money is not worth it when they elect liberals taxes will go up and their goes the money. It isn't worth it I tell ya.
In my experience, the only reason people move from another state to NY is because they already have a job lined up there. That has to skew the numbers.
With all the out-of-state competition coming in, if you were born and bred in NY and haven’t found a job by the time you finish college, you know you’re SOL and leave....
Stampeding out of NYExpect Eric 'My People' Holder and the DOJ to file a Lawsuit preventing present NY residents from leaving the city of NY and the state. They'll be joined in the suit by the City of New York, the US Dept of Commerce, the US Dept of Labor, the NLRB, and New York State and City Treasurer.
New York has lost 1.6 million residents to other states in the past decade, according to a new report from the Empire Center for State Policy.
A couple of years ago I'd have to have a tinfoil hat on to post this, but not now. The Tyrants in power must have complete control over the people and where they're 'distributed', where their money goes, and for and to whom it's distributed to. After all, you can't buy votes if the piggy bank is empty.
Ergo, people fleeing High Taxed cities and states must be stopped for the good of Fedzilla and its local (state and city) cousins. Heck, Holder could base the lawsuit on the Commerce Clause and some ijit judge would allow it. As we all know now, 'The Commerce Clause Pertains to Everything'. And people moving from one area to another suuuuure does affect commerce.
(When the NLRB went after Boeing, the Tyrants gave away their Game Plan.)
As an Upstate NYer that is sad. I had to move away decades ago because of that garbage. I would love to move back to take care of my aging parents but find it difficult if not impossible. Things have only gotten worse there since I’ve been gone. I’m trying to convince them to move away. My friends that stayed behind think I’m a nut job. My southern friends advise me not to tell anyone where I’m from :( I don’t know how I avoided it but I never became a leftist idiot.
Good luck with that!
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