According to a CNBC analysis, Texas, largely because of its pro-life and child-protecting laws, is considered the worst American state to live and work. But Mary Elizabeth Castle of Texas Values tells AFN the conservative legislation is serving her state quite well.
"The Save Women's Sports law, the heartbeat law, the Human Life Protection Act, and even having our state become completely pro-life after the overturning of Roe vs. Wade -- the growth in Texas has not stopped," she relays. "You even have people from California, a state that actually disfavors some of our laws, coming from there to the state of Texas."
Surveys have shown Texas and Florida are destination states for those fleeing the more liberal states, while California, for example, is hemorrhaging wealthy residents, which is hurting the state's bottom line.
From 2019, to 2021, the latest year on record, California experienced a decline in its population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Randy Thomasson of SaveCalifornia.com says the amount of taxes required to fund the Democrats' social programs and giveaways are soaking the rich.
"California's Democrats have created the highest state income tax margin for the highest earners of any state," he explains.
So, naturally, the rich are leaving. Add that to the exodus of conservatives of all income brackets who are fed up with the politics, and in 2021, California lost more than $340 million in tax revenues.
"The state budget has been crafted to rely especially upon those high wage earners and the income tax, and so when those high wage earners say, 'I'm out of here,' of course there's going to be a hole in the budget," says Thomasson.
He notes that 40% of Californians have seriously considered leaving the state.
"I do not blame people who know what the Democrats and the RINOs, Republicans in name only who vote for Democrat bills, are doing to further take California down the toilet," Thomasson adds.
The problem, however, is that those refugees are going to red states, which generally have lower taxes and less crime, and they are continuing to vote blue.
"When there are Democrats who move from California to other states and continue to vote for Democrats, they turn former red states purple or blue," the family advocate warns.
But Castle would argue that the conservative, family-focused policies "are what make our economy strong."
"At the end of the day, none of this is having an effect on the strong economy of Texas that continues to grow," she tells AFN. "We continue to see even a surplus in our Texas budget."
Castle advises the so-called "woke" states to consider that before they take further actions to move to the Left.
