We’ve previously talked about the problems that New York State has in terms of hanging onto its population. People have been fleeing the state’s high taxes and oppressive liberal government for years now, dropping the state’s congressional representation by several members and putting the state through redistricting every census cycle. Rather than acknowledge what’s really the problem, however, Democratic leaders in the state government continually come up with new and interesting theories to blame these changes on. The latest is a real humdinger. Governor Andrew Cuomo came out this week and blamed the exodus on… Florida. (CBS Miami)

This week the Governor of New York blamed budget shortfalls on the state of Florida. He said New Yorkers are fleeing to the sunshine state to save big time on taxes. It all goes back to the tax reform passed by Congress. The changes increased the incentive to move to the sunshine state dramatically. On Sunny Isles Beach, developer Edgardo Defortuna has a lot to smile about. His development Jade Signature, an ultra-luxury beachfront condominium building, is nearly sold out.

The developer in Florida they interviewed, Edgardo Defortuna, is a pretty happy guy. He owns a luxury condominium that’s opening up right on the beach and has sold all but seven of nearly 200 units before the doors even opened. In the past, Defortuna (who is a big name in Florida real estate development) received only a handful of calls per year from New Yorkers for the units that sell for up to $30M. Now he says he’s getting several calls per week.

The last two units were sold to New York CEOs from Wall Street and an investment banking firm. We recently looked at the impact of the new tax law and I noted that not many people would be affected by the deductions limits for state and local taxes (SALT). Only those raking in annual incomes well up into six figures and beyond would take a major hit. Well, these are the people who felt the bite, and they’re leaving the state.

It’s probably not going to do any good, but somebody should really ask Governor Cuomo if it’s really fair to “blame Florida” for the exodus of New Yorkers. If you tax people heavily enough while doing your level best to suppress their constitutional rights, they’ll eventually just leave. And if you’re bleeding out all of the top earners and replacing them with lower skilled labor or illegal immigrants, that’s not going to do much for your budget situation. If you want to blame somebody (besides yourself), try blaming Canada. That’s more fun and I’m sure a lot of people will agree with you.