How red states are capitalizing on California’s economic mistakes

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The freedom that is supposed to define American life is not cheap. A house from which to raise a family comes at a cost. The education required to earn a job requires communal and individual investment. The roads, hospitals, and electricity that allow us to get where we need to go, stay healthy, and be productive all involve a heck of a lot of spending.

That said, the freedom to start a business and contribute to the common good should not be impossibly expensive. That is increasingly the case in California today, and red states are reaping all the benefits of the Golden State’s policy mistakes.

Consider the recent case of Chevron in my home state of Texas, for example.

For decades, the energy giant was tied to California. Its employees, headquarters, and operations were spread across the Golden State. Years of unfair political attacks and dozens of unjustified regulations have finally sent Chevron packing — it is literally paying its employees to collect their things and move to Texas for a better shot at freedom.

Chevron officials have emphasized that the decision to move to Texas was not politically motivated but instead reflected a lower cost of living and a more business-friendly environment. No offense to that Chevron official, but policy, of course, is politics. Regardless of what the Chevron brass say not to burn whatever bridges they have with California officials, the fact of the matter is California and other blue states are becoming unlivable. Their policy choices are imposing excessive, untenable costs on their residents.

Texas, on the other hand, has taken the opposite approach. It has made itself one of the most affordable states in the nation. Groceries and clothes are cheaper here than anywhere else, for example. Housing is 17% less expensive than the national average. Texas has become the most moved-to state in the nation. Last year, the Lone Star State was the top growth state for the sixth time in eight years, with 56% of all migration in Texas last year being inbound. Not surprisingly, just about all the other states in the top 10 are red states.

The lesson here is that now is not the time to enforce virtue-signaling legislation that sends companies looking for new homes and drives up the costs of people’s necessities. Economic uncertainty remains high. Groceries, housing, and education all seem to increase in price week after week. The cost of the freedom to realize our individual and societal potential is rising.

Red state legislatures such as Texas’s have demonstrated that while there are surely cases when regulation is warranted, such cases should be considered the exception, not the rule.

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While red states such as Texas will gladly continue welcoming California’s workers and employers with open arms, our national community means that we share the costs and benefits created by each state.

Hopefully, the mass California exodus will wake the state’s officials up to the fact that freedom comes at a cost and they’re the ones driving up that price. Once they are willing to admit this fact, the U.S. GDP will reap all the benefits.

Matt Mackowiak (@MattMackowiak) is the chairman of the Travis County GOP and co-founder of the nonpartisan grassroots organization Save Austin Now.

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