The Great New York Exodus
New York is bleeding money, and the people with the deepest pockets are the ones running for the hills. According to a bombshell report from the Citizens Budget Committee, the state’s share of millionaires has plummeted from 12.7% in 2010 to just 8.7% in 2022. That’s the biggest drop of any state in the nation, and it leaves us with a massive hole in the budget.
This isn’t just about rich folks moving to Florida or Texas; it’s about nearly $11 billion in tax revenue that simply vanished in a single year. The study makes it clear: if New York had kept its share of high earners, we’d have collected roughly $10.7 billion more in 2022. That’s real cash that could have fixed our schools or cleared our streets, but instead, it’s gone.
Mamdani’s Impossible Math
Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the Democratic Socialists of America are stuck in a terrible bind. On the campaign trail, they promised to raise taxes on millionaires by 2% and hit anyone making over $300,000 even harder. Their plan relies on these wealthy residents staying put to fund their ambitious social programs. But the data shows the opposite is happening: the higher earners are leaving faster than anyone else.
The Citizens Budget Committee notes that while the number of millionaires in New York doubled, it tripled in California and Texas and quadrupled in Florida. The DSA wants to squeeze the well-off, but New York already ranks second in the nation for taxes on the wealthy. There is literally no room left to push without pushing them out the door entirely. You can’t tax a ghost, and the rich are becoming ghosts in this city.
The Cost of Socialist Dreams
This is what happens when you run a city like a socialist experiment while ignoring basic economics. The DSA claims they are fighting for the working class by attacking billionaires, but their own policies are driving away the very people who pay the bills. It’s a classic case of shooting yourself in the foot. You need those high-income taxpayers to fund the services everyone relies on, yet the administration is actively encouraging them to leave.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: you can’t spend money you don’t have. With $11 billion gone, the math for Mamdani’s agenda just doesn’t add up. Either he scales back his spending to match the shrinking tax base, or he tries to raise rates even higher, which will only speed up the exodus. It’s a choice between a smaller government or a bankrupt one, and the current path leads straight to financial ruin.
New Yorkers need to watch closely as this plays out. The mayor can talk all he wants about taxing the rich, but the real story is that the rich are voting with their feet. If this trend continues, we’ll see service cuts, higher taxes on the middle class to make up the difference, and a city that looks more like a ghost town than the economic engine it used to be.
This is opinion and commentary from the RapForMayor team.
