As the Chair of the National Association of State Chambers (NASC), I often speak with my chamber colleagues from other states about issues impacting businesses nationwide. Our goal is to share the positive and negative policies we see in our respective states and work on approaches that improve the business climate for all. Our conversations of late, though, have focused less on policy and more on demographic trends, specifically the shift of people and jobs to more business-friendly states.
My counterpart at the Florida Chamber of Commerce recently shared a marketing piece they use to lure people and businesses south. It states that in 2022 alone, more than 65,000 people exchanged a New York driver’s license for a Florida license. These stats may not surprise many, given the longstanding trend of retirees leaving the Northeast for warmer states.
Unfortunately, it’s not just grandparents leaving for the Sunshine State. More and more younger working adults are moving south and taking their wealth with them. The Florida Chamber points out that $6.4 billion a year in taxable income is moving out of New York and into their state. My colleague’s marketing piece is backed up by the latest data from the Tax Foundation, whose recent data showed while Florida’s population grew by 2% from 2021 to 2022, New York’s population declined by 1% over the same time.
There is a reason people are leaving. Despite Florida’s population being larger than ours, New York State’s budget is double the size of Florida. Florida’s unemployment rate is half of New York’s, while their real state GDP growth is more than double ours. And while New York State has a strong per capita GDP in the financial sector, many New York policymakers are hostile toward this sector and its employees.
According to a research brief published in 2022 by the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research--New York’s state and local revenues and spending per resident were around $19,500 in 2019. That’s more than double Florida’s figure of $9,300. For the moment, New York’s per-capita income remains much higher than Florida, but Florida has lower crime rates, fewer homeless people, and for the first time ever, more jobs than New York. In education, Floridians graduate from high school at a higher rate despite the Sunshine State’s substantially lower spending on a per-student basis.
As New York’s state-wide chamber of commerce, The Business Council has approximately 3,200 members, and more than 70% are small businesses. Each day we hear from employers of all sizes telling us how mandates or policies impact their business. The most concerning calls are those from employers with operations in multiple states that can more easily shift investments and production to states more competitive for business. It is a reality that New York’s economic climate cannot compete with the lower taxes, fewer restrictions, and expanded economic development opportunities many other states offer to their business community and workers.
The political climate in New York is also far from welcoming. Too many elected officials express open hostility toward business, and even those who profess to support small businesses are often found supporting policies that impose additional costs, mandates, and restrictions on employers, disproportionately impacting small businesses with fewer compliance resources.
Florida realizes the benefit of people voting with their feet, leaving behind a state they say isn’t working for them. For those of us who are committed to New York and its tremendous opportunities, we need to voice our concerns using our most valuable asset, our votes. It is essential that we identify and support lawmakers that are committed to helping our economy grow, for the benefit not just of the state’s business community, but of its workers and residents who need expanded economic opportunities to remain in New York State .
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