Monday, May 05, 2008

Another "progressive" hypocrite

An obituary on Howard Metzenbaum by the WSJ.
But we come today not to judge the late Senator, only to praise him for one last act of personal financial acumen. Though a lifelong Ohioan, the Senator moved to Florida in 2002, according to a declaration of domicile filed with the Broward County Clerk's office in 2003. In doing so, he avoided paying his home state's income tax (top rate: 6.55%).

More important as he neared the end of his life, the former Senator also saved his family from paying Ohio's death tax, which features one of the highest state rates (7%) and lowest asset thresholds – $338,333 – in the country. Florida famously has no income or estate tax, which is one reason other than the climate that it is home to so many northern-born retirees.

HT Keane Observations

When is Ohio going to stop the blood letting that occurs when rich people seek economic asylum from Ohio to friendlier states like Florida.

Governments are no different than private business. Imagine if I set up a promotion with AARP which said "Come to our business and we'll charge you 50% more than our competitor". The same works with state and local governments. Why pay more for something you hardly use?

You see it every where; flight out of the cities into the suburbs; flight from one state to another; and even super rich people expatriating the US to the Caymans or Bahamas.

But politicians, particularly those tremendously smart, "progressive", politicians somehow believe that tried and true economic laws (ie cost/benefit, supply/demand) don't apply to governments.

There's a reason states like Ohio continue to shrink and it's because our solidly purple state is turning blue and our politicians believe they can defy a cost/benefit curve. It's a Quixote like fantasy of defying gravity.

Howard Metzenbaum was at least smart enough to know otherwise.

No comments: