Texas Gov. Rick Perry was in Farmingdale, Long Island, this week campaigning for New York's Republican gubernatorial candidate, Rob Astorino, and in New York City this summer trying to siphon jobs from the Empire State to the Lone Star State. Instead of being upset with him for messing with us on our own turf, let's get mad at Albany lawmakers for providing him with the opportunity.

And it isn't just Texas.

"[B]etween 2000 and 2011," according to a report by the Mercatus Center/George Mason University published in 2013, about 9 percent of New Yorkers left for another state. Earlier this year the U.S. Census Bureau announced that if current trends continue, Florida will overtake New York's position as the third most populous state by 2015.

While this might not sound like a cause for alarm to you, it should have been met with more than a collective yawn by our state's elected leaders

Some dismissively speculate a desire for warmer days to be the reason for the population slide. This is a convenient excuse: We can't control the weather, so no one is to blame if this is the case.

Yet this conclusion ignores the uninviting fact that there are factors within our control that drive people away. New York is the highest taxed, most regulated and least free state in the union, according to recent studies. Ask any ex-New Yorkers why they fled and they will no doubt list, in addition to the intemperate climates, the mind-numbingly offensive policies that could drown even the most adept fiscal swimmer and a government that seems to function to benefit three people in a room in Albany.

It has been an abdication of the responsibility of state leaders to not address what has been a foreseeable crisis over the past five decades. But the blame doesn't rest solely on elected officials: The electorate needs to engage state lawmakers in creating a culture that encourages keeping our fellow New Yorkers here instead of pushing them to move their homes and their families — and their tax contributions — to other states.

New Yorkers are a proud bunch. But just saying we are the best isn't good enough any longer. Geographic pride has kept some people clinging to the edge of New York state's borders, but is it enough to make us relevant again?

Other states are daring to challenge us. It's tempting — but negligent — for us to blame Perry as the culprit for the economic, political and population problems that New Yorkers who decide to stay will eventually be forced to confront. We should instead be honest with ourselves to know whether we are adequately armed with the best tools possible — individual liberty coupled with increased economic freedom — to confront the opportunities presented by our friends from other states.

New York used to be a place where backing down from a fight was a sign of weakness. In his August visit, Perry challenged Gov. Andrew Cuomo to a debate on the contrasting economic policies of each state. Although Cuomo, apparently not one inclined for debating, politely declined — "I don't think so," he said — New Yorkers are already having this debate at their kitchen tables.

And the results aren't good.

I have no doubt that New Yorkers are ready to mess with Texas. The question we need to ask is whether the current leaders in Albany are up to the task.

James Coll is an adjunct professor of American and Constitutional history at Nassau Community College and the founder of ChangeNYS.org.