Back in 2022, New York Governor Kathy Hochul had a message for Republicans that was about as subtle as a brick through a window. If you don’t like it here, she said, “jump on a bus and head down to Florida where you belong!” At the time, it got cheers from the usual crowd and probably felt like a solid political soundbite.
Well, here we are a few years later, and it turns out a lot of people took that advice seriously.
Now Hochul is singing a very different tune. Speaking at a recent Politico summit, she openly admitted that New York’s “tax base has been eroded” and started urging people who left, especially those who moved to places like Florida, to come back. That is quite the reversal. It is almost like telling people to leave and then being surprised when they actually do.
The problem is not hard to figure out. High taxes, rising cost of living, heavy regulation, and policies that make it harder to run a business tend to push people out. This is not some mysterious economic phenomenon. When you make a state less affordable and less friendly to success, people with the means to leave will leave.
And they did. Wealthy taxpayers and business owners, the very people who fund a large chunk of state revenue, packed up and headed to places like Florida and Texas. Lower taxes, fewer headaches, and a better overall business climate tend to be pretty convincing selling points.
Now Hochul is essentially asking them to come back and resume footing the bill. Critics have not exactly been gentle in their response. The reaction has ranged from disbelief to outright mockery, with many pointing out that people who left for financial and quality-of-life reasons are not likely to reverse course just because the governor asked nicely.
🚨 LMFAO! New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is being mocked nationwide after she BEGGED people to move back from Florida
4 years ago, she was GLOATING, saying Republicans should "jump on a bus and head down to Florida"
Mamdani will make the problem EVEN WORSE!pic.twitter.com/UMwZAIzBWC
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) March 19, 2026
It gets even more complicated when you look at what is happening in New York City. Under Mayor Zohran Mamdani, proposals are floating around to dramatically lower the estate tax threshold from $7 million to $750,000. In a place like New York, where home values alone can exceed that number, that is not just targeting billionaires. That starts hitting ordinary families who have spent decades building some level of financial security.
So the message being sent is a bit mixed, to put it politely. On one hand, the state is asking high earners and property owners to return. On the other hand, it is considering policies that would take a bigger bite out of what those same people earn and leave behind.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman summed it up bluntly, arguing that when you “raise taxes, drive up the cost of living, make it harder to do business, and try to destroy families’ savings, people leave.” That is not exactly a controversial statement, it is basic cause and effect.
Hochul’s new strategy appears to be asking former residents to overlook all of that and come back anyway. The odds of that working are not great. People who have already found lower taxes, more freedom, and a better financial outlook elsewhere are not usually eager to trade it back for higher costs and more uncertainty.
Turns out telling people to leave can have consequences. And sometimes, they don’t come back.
Leave a Comment