2024-04-10 08:00:00
A recent Cardinal News article by Dwayne Yancey regarding Governor Youngkin stating a barrier to “in-migration” to Virginia is due to our high taxes is true, but this is not the whole story. There are unfortunately more barriers to in-migration Virginians need to understand.
I am originally from New Jersey, and due to professional career relocations have lived in seven states, as well as Germany. It has given me the opportunity to understand the various sub-cultures, to learn what drives individual decision-making, and to make comparisons. I have been living in Virginia for 20 years. I have many colleagues, friends and family living in the Northeast, primarily in the New York metro area. Most are at the age now to contemplate retirement and where to live the most rewarding and satisfying remainder of their lives. The hundreds with whom I have discussed the topic are of varying political views, financial backgrounds, races and ethnicities. The one thing they all have in common is the ability to do math.
They consider where Virginia is on the long list but how it never makes it to the short list when compared to states to the south or west. Events, politics, and legislation in Virginia get more national press than we think. All those considering relocation are doing so to flee high taxes, high energy costs, public education that does not focus on the essentials, perception of unfair and bias state and local entities, and the list goes on. Whether we like it or not, whether we believe or disagree, these are the key reasons, and they are all kryptonite:
Taxes: State income tax, property tax (cars/boats, excludes real estate), motor fuel tax, sales tax, machine and tool tax (for manufacturing businesses). New Jersey’s governor once remarked, “If you don’t want to pay higher taxes now and in the future, then maybe New Jersey isn’t the place for you to live.” Similar statements have been made in New York by their leaders. Sounds like opportunity for Virginia, until they compare the math with states south and west of us.
Energy future: The Virginia Clean Economy Act, and the expectation of what this means for the future cost of electricity. As has become clear, the VCEA will drive extraordinary energy, primarily electricity, cost increases in Virginia in the next 20 years. Businesses and residents from the Northeast don’t want to go from the frying pan into the fire, as similar approaches in their states have already driven energy costs regarding 40% above Virginia’s. When I inform them the solar lobby wrote the VCEA, not energy affordability experts, I have inadvertently made it worse.
Education: The national news has covered the Loudoun, Fairfax and Prince William county stories quite thoroughly. Although there are some high-quality schools in those counties, the image of the Virginia K-12 public system in the national eye has been damaged. Parents with K-12 age children don’t want them learning that they are an oppressor or are oppressed, or that boys can use girls’ restrooms and have the events buried by school administrations and school boards. Gov. Youngkin has been applauded for his efforts to “right the ship,” but with our “one-term” governors, there is the concern that in the next years the ship will be turned to the devastating storm that Ralph Northam and Terry McAuliffe led (Virginia Competitiveness Index data that Northam discontinued publishing, for a reason).
Politics: Politicians from Northern Virginia do get out-of-state press. Although there are politicians around Richmond and Norfolk with similar views and goals, they don’t get the same out-of-state exposure. I get more questions and comments on those senators and delegates from Northern Virginia (U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger as well), and they are seen as typical of most legislators in Virginia. As we know they are not representative of most of Virginians, and don’t appear to have much of an interest to do what is in the best interests of the whole state. Once once more, it’s “kryptonite” for our image.
In summary, whether or not it’s accurate, Virginia appears to them to be everything those looking to move out of the Northeast are trying to get away from. We know Virginia has a lot to offer, but unfortunately it is getting less attractive per the math. The bottom line is we are now viewed as the “Southern Part of the North,” not the “Northern Part of the South.”
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