as high-net-worth residents continue to depart for lower-tax destinations, leaving behind a funding gap for the expansive social programs that define the Empire State’s approach to governance.
Speaking at Politico’s New York Agenda: Albany Summit, Hochul openly pleaded for wealthy individuals—many now residing in places like Florida and Texas—to return or persuade their peers to do so, acknowledging that these taxpayers are essential to sustaining the generous welfare framework New York has built.
The governor’s remarks came amid mounting pressure from progressive voices, including New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who has pushed for significant tax increases on the rich to address budget shortfalls. Hochul resisted those calls, arguing instead for retention rather than coercion.
She praised a handful of “patriotic millionaires” who have voluntarily contributed, but emphasized the need for broader participation.
“I need people who are high net worth to support the generous social programs that we want to have in our state,” she said. “Some patriotic millionaires who’ve stepped up and cut me checks. Ok! Cut me the checks. But if you want to support, maybe the first step should be go down to Palm Beach and see who you can bring back home because our tax base has been eroded.”
This plea arrives against a backdrop of well-documented outmigration from New York. From 2020 to 2023, the state suffered a net loss of nearly 1 million residents, accelerated by pandemic-era lockdowns and mandates that many found intolerable. Projections indicate an additional 250,000 net loss from 2024 through 2025, with high-income earners disproportionately contributing to the revenue drain. Wealthy taxpayers, who shoulder a substantial portion of the state’s income tax burden, have increasingly chosen no-income-tax states like Florida and Texas, where property taxes remain but overall fiscal pressures are lighter.
New York’s tax environment stands out as punishing by national standards. State taxes run nearly three times the national average, property taxes exceed the norm by 45%, and the overall cost of living sits about 50% higher. Business taxes vary by sector but often range 50% to 100% above national figures. These factors, combined with perceptions of overreach during the COVID period and ongoing regulatory burdens, have driven businesses and individuals away in significant numbers.
The fiscal consequences are direct and severe. High earners fund a large share of the programs that provide extensive social services, from housing assistance to healthcare initiatives. When they leave, the remaining taxpayers—many middle-class or working families—face greater pressure to fill the void. In New York City alone, spending on homeless services reached roughly $81,000 per person in 2025, a figure that surpasses the annual income of about 65% of hardworking residents in the city. Such expenditures highlight the strain on resources when the donor class shrinks.
Hochul’s comments reflect a rare moment of candor from a Democratic leader in a deep-blue state. She framed the departures not as a rejection of progressive ideals per se, but as a practical challenge: without the revenue from high-net-worth individuals, the ambitious agenda becomes unsustainable. Her suggestion that officials or supporters travel to Palm Beach to recruit returnees underscores the desperation; once people have tasted lower taxes and fewer mandates elsewhere, persuasion becomes the only tool left.
Critics have seized on the irony. Just a few years earlier, during heated debates over COVID policies, Hochul had suggested that those dissatisfied with New York’s direction could leave—remarks that some interpreted as dismissive of conservative or libertarian concerns. Now, the governor finds herself in the position of asking those same individuals—or their counterparts—to reconsider and return, precisely because their absence threatens the state’s fiscal model. Social media reactions have been swift and pointed, with observers noting the shift from “get out” to “come back and pay up.”
The broader pattern extends beyond New York. Blue states with high taxes and regulatory environments have seen similar outflows to red states offering economic freedom and lower burdens. Florida and Texas have become magnets not just for retirees but for working professionals and entrepreneurs seeking environments where success is less penalized. New York’s experience serves as a case study in the limits of redistribution when mobility is unrestricted: policies that rely heavily on a small group of high contributors become vulnerable the moment those contributors exercise their right to relocate.
Hochul’s resistance to new wealth taxes, even as figures like Mamdani advocate for them, suggests an awareness that further hikes could accelerate the exodus rather than stem it. Yet the plea alone may not suffice. Without addressing root causes—high taxes, cost of living, regulatory overreach, and quality-of-life issues—the cycle of departure and revenue loss is likely to persist.
New York remains a powerhouse of culture, finance, and innovation, but its leaders now confront an uncomfortable reality: Marxist social programs require willing payers. When those payers can choose freedom elsewhere, no amount of begging can fully replace the revenue they take with them. The Empire State’s future hinges on whether it can rediscover the balance that once made it a destination rather than a departure point.