Across the country, Americans are fleeing “blue” cities and states led by progressive Democrats and moving to “red” communities governed by Republicans. Americans are voting with their feet in substantial numbers. This trend has been apparent for years, but it is now accelerating.
In 2021, the state with the biggest loss of population was New York, which suffered a decline of 319,020 people. Until recently, left-wing Democrat Governor Andrew Cuomo led New York. After he was forced to resign for his inappropriate behavior toward multiple women, his successor, Kathy Hochul, has continued his progressive policies with the same disastrous results.
Democrat Governors led the other top states with population losses: Hawaii, Massachusetts, Louisiana, California, and Illinois. The city with the biggest population decline, 2.9%, was Washington D.C., is also saddled with Democrat political leadership.
Unfortunately, voters in the Nation’s Capital and all the states with the greatest population losses keep voting for failed Democrat policies. The people who can leave are exiting because these Democrat politicians deliver disastrous policies which negatively impact the life of law-abiding citizens.
Democrats love big government and implement progressive economic policies, such as high taxes and oppressive bureaucracy, which hamper the ability of businesses and individuals to succeed and economically prosper. In “blue” states, citizens must deal with COVID-19 mandates, which forces them to wear masks and take vaccines, regardless of their personal or religious beliefs.
Even though they generously fund public education, the schools are substandard, and the students are shortchanged. Democrat led states have poor infrastructure, despite the avalanche of funds dedicated to road projects. In effect, the overall quality of life is poor with high taxes paying for inferior services.
Another severe problem in Democrat cities and states is the lack of public safety. In the summer of 2020, in the aftermath of the George Floyd incident, 574 riots occurred throughout the country, mostly in areas led by Democrats. These riots caused between $1 and $2 billion in damage to insured properties.
Sadly, very few individuals were ever prosecuted for the crimes, such as looting and arson, which occurred during the riots. An even more disturbing result of the riots and the criminal behavior throughout 2020 was that more than 60,000 law enforcement officers were assaulted in the line of duty. This represented a 7.2%increase from the previous year.
Instead of supporting the beleaguered law enforcement officers in our nation, Democrat politicians in cities such as Minneapolis, MN called for defunding the police. This nonsensical policy was supported by high profile Democrats such as U.S. Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-MN).
This lack of support is typical of what happens to police officers in many cities led by Democrats. It is no surprise that more police officers are leaving departments in our major cities. In the last year, there has been a 45% increase in police retirements and a 20% increase in resignations among police officers.
Almost all the nation’s top metropolitan areas are facing a severe shortage of police officers. In an environment that is viciously anti-police, who can blame officers who want to leave departments?
Unfortunately, inadequate police staffing is detrimental to public safety and contributed to an increase in crime in 2021. For example, in New Orleans, the police department has a shortage of five hundred officers. It is one of the reasons why the murder rate in 2021 skyrocketed to an 18-year record.
Last year, murder records were set in sixteen American cities, but none of them had a Republican Mayor. Democrats combine a lack of police funding and support with liberal criminal justice policies to create an enormous increase in crime.
In these Democrat cities, politicians prefer to “invest” in social justice programs and push for “equity” in the community, instead of being focused on the victims of crime and public safety. In many of our nation’s cities, liberal District Attorneys have been elected with the help of organizations tied to mega donor George Soros. These elections have had a direct impact on public safety in those communities.
It will surely happen in New York City. The new District Attorney, Alvin Bragg, has instituted a policy that will focus prosecution on only the most severe crimes. Even crimes such as resisting arrest will not be prosecuted by Bragg and his staff. Instead, Bragg’s office will focus on “alternatives to incarceration” and “diversion” programs.
Not surprisingly, Bragg was elected with the help of organizations affiliated with George Soros, who pumped$1 million into his campaign. According to former New York Police Department (NYPD) Commissioner Bill Bratton, Soros has “effectively destroyed the criminal justice system in America.”
Imagine the plight facing New York’s police officers, who will be forced to continue to arrest criminals who the new District Attorney refuses to prosecute. Bratton believes that Bragg’s policies will be “handcuffing the police” and preventing them from providing public safety to the citizens of New York City. It will certainly lead to more officers resigning or retiring from the NYPD. Thus, a dangerous situation will become even more dangerous.
In contrast to the environment in our nation’s “blue” cities and states, Americans living in “red” states such as Texas and Florida are enjoying a better quality of life, better public services, enhanced public safety, coupled with more freedom from government interference and low tax rates. In fact, there is no state income tax in Texas and Florida.
In 2021, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that the population of Texas grew by 310,288 while the population of Florida grew by 211,196. These were the largest increases in the country. Not surprisingly, Republican Governors led both states.
Another state that did extremely well in 2021 was Idaho, also led by a Republican Governor. It enjoyed the largest percentage population growth of 2.9% last year.
Americans are flooding into these “red” states after escaping the misery of living under Democratic Party rule. It shows that freedom and prosperity are popular with the American people.