Maybe a percentage will, but I think when people are trying to guess and assume what these people will do as "rational economic agents", they miss the human factors. No one is going to pick where they go to college based on the taxes on the ultra-rich unless they are obsessed with money. Once rich, are you going to uproot yourself entirely from any family, friends, and connections in the US? You have to consider that rational economic behavior still has to consider what the point of it all is, and money for the sake of money doesn't tend to be the answer even among the hyper-rich.
What these people will come to terms with is a pretty age-old lesson - there are things more important than just how rich you are, and most of those are human. So long as they can maintain their lifestyle, I think many will want to stay. Needing to find 20K in a couch cushion to pay for your 5M in assets each year that you make 300K on won't be the thing that makes you move.
Of course, the rich today also have many legal shields and layers that will protect them from real french revolution violence. But I think anyone can feel the shift right now. Go on Tiktok and see just how many young people are getting real into eating the rich :)
> Maybe a percentage will, but I think when people are trying to guess and assume what these people will do as "rational economic agents", they miss the human factors. No one is going to pick where they go to college based on the taxes on the ultra-rich unless they are obsessed with money. Once rich, are you going to uproot yourself entirely from any family, friends, and connections in the US? You have to consider that rational economic behavior still has to consider what the point of it all is, and money for the sake of money doesn't tend to be the answer even among the hyper-rich.
I think this is probably true once someone has a career and a family, but the college part doesn't pass the sniff test for me. the "just graduated college" group is probably the most mobile slice of the overall population. especially if you chose a college away from your hometown, you are pretty likely to either move back home or pursue a career somewhere else entirely at the end. I think other folks are also more mobile than you give them credit for. unless they currently have children in school, I find people are pretty likely to move if they see an opportunity for a significantly better combo of salary/COL/taxes.
Changing countries is hard, but changing states is easy. People do it all the time. If you have a private jet for visits to other states, it's especially easy.
You don't have to leave the US, just move back to the sanity that is called the "eastern seaboard".
If we're comparing high-tax states, I think NY is better run, and more interesting overall than California. The only think Cali has going for it is tech (relatively unimportant to the super rich), and warm weather.
outside of the city, NY is sort of an odd proposition. beautiful place (much more so than the midatlantic, imo), but with surprisingly high taxes and overall COL for mostly rural areas.
Why does a wealthy citizen of another country have to physically spend 60 days in California? You're suggesting that the wording of the law is not trivial to circumvent, especially for people with large amounts of wealth.
it's not like SF or NYC are tourists paradise. you cant walk down mission st without some random homeless person trying to attack you. Gavin Newsom and London Breed should just convert Moscone center into a homeless shelter. problem solved.
Not to mention Elon Musk, Joe Rogan. I’ve also seen a few high profile YouTuber’s leave recently too. The amount of people fleeing to Idaho from California is causing housing issues there.
What these people will come to terms with is a pretty age-old lesson - there are things more important than just how rich you are, and most of those are human. So long as they can maintain their lifestyle, I think many will want to stay. Needing to find 20K in a couch cushion to pay for your 5M in assets each year that you make 300K on won't be the thing that makes you move.
Of course, the rich today also have many legal shields and layers that will protect them from real french revolution violence. But I think anyone can feel the shift right now. Go on Tiktok and see just how many young people are getting real into eating the rich :)