It is more complex than that; the pension burdens of some of the worst-off states make them automatically unfriendly in terms of taxes because they are basically operating giant pyramid schemes that have collapsed. Anyone moving to NJ or CA is simply buying a share in a massive IOU, and current revenues are diverted to those retired gubmint “workers” rather than providing current services. How business-friendly can a state be as the roads crumble and potential customers flee this financial mess? Even worse, unproductive Third Worlders are being trafficked into these states to keep the public school teachers employed, and that worsens the pension crises. There are two groups forming that are becoming increasingly mutually exclusive: Those that pay taxes, and those that use public schools.
Government “workers” now retired got the benefit of stealing our tax dollars for decades while doing absolutely nothing productive or useful. It’s time to cut off their big pensions and tell them they have sponged off of us long enough. As for public schools, well, we don’t need them. It’s time to just let taxpayers keep their money and let parents decide how to educate their kids —and for how long. After the 7th grade it’s almost all indoctrination in those government schools. Parents should be free to skip all that.