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Gone to Texas

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Learn more about Michael McMahan.
Michael McMahan
Former Vice President, Development
George W. Bush Presidential Center

At the Bush Institute’s April 10 tax conference, one trend studied was migration patterns between states. Michael Cox, SMU-Cox School of...

At the Bush Institute’s April 10 tax conference, one trend studied was migration patterns between states. Michael Cox, SMU-Cox School of Business professor, compared California to Texas. A recent Wall Street Journal article echoes Professor Cox’s presentation. Middle-class Californians are moving in hordes to states like Texas that have lower taxes and smaller fiscal deficits. California is left with a two-class system — the richest of the rich and those on permanent welfare. Much like the frontiersmen of the early-1800s escaping harsh tax burdens, California’s productive middle class has GTT — Gone to Texas.