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There's no evidence that rich are leaving CA in droves. If you like to show off your fancy stuff, there's more people to show it to in CA than TX. Mansions are for ego, not for practical use. If anything, the middle-class is shrinking because housing costs are so high. The homeless come for the weather, so CA is becoming rich or poor, and less middle.

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Last I checked, California had a negative net migration rate while Texas has a positive one.

"Migration among certain demographic groups also differs from the state’s general pattern. Although California has had net out-migration among most demographic groups, it has gained among those with higher incomes ($110,000 per year or more) and higher levels of education (graduate degrees)."

https://lao.ca.gov/laoecontax/article/detail/265

That data is several years old now (up to 2016). Anecdotal but most of my high-income friends left in the past 1.5 years.

I've been hearing this shit about Texas for at least a decade.

Related: Texas has had positive net migration for that entire decade. Also related: rich people retiring to a low tax state wasn't invented by young techies.

As a fifth generation Californian, I am not loosing sleep about the state depopulating! Even if it has some years of negative net migration, the long term story is incredible economic and population growth. Slower or negative growth would be helpful in many ways. The state's infrastructure needs to catch up to the growth, particularly in the Bay Area.

>There's no evidence that rich are leaving CA in droves. If you like to show off your fancy stuff, there's more people to show it to in CA than TX

I think a lot of people would rather be the bigger fish in the pond though. Also, if you moved to SF specifically to make money you're going to want to protect that payout more so than stay in the city.

In NY there are an unusual number of Florida plated cars driving around in the winter time when no true Floridian would bother visiting (Jan-Feb). Snowbirds come in the warm parts of the year. The wealthy can play their residency games to get the tax regime they want.

The evidence shows that the homeless primarily come from the working class not from out of state. Housing costs are so high that normal people are balanced on the edge. Any unexpected bump like an illness or car trouble can push people into homelessness.

I stopped taking an income because taxes got too high. Investments plus spouse income pushes us into the highest tax bracket for State and Federal (CA is up to 14.5% with both "millionaire taxes) added in. It wasn't worth giving up 56 cents of every dollar to taxes.

I work at a startup now and take no income. I suspect many other people in California are doing the same.

"I'm so rich I stopped getting paid because the taxes were just not worth it."

He said getting paid as "income", not paid in general.

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