The recently passed New York budget included a deal for 14 new charter schools, certainly a welcome development. With an estimated charter school waitlist of 163,000 students, that’s about one new school for every 11,600 or so waitlisted students.
New York seems unwilling to have the supply of schooling alternatives match demand. Where will they turn for schooling options? Florida seems like the most promising answer.
During the same session, Florida lawmakers embraced universal private school choice and passed a law to phase in facility funding for charter schools. Florida has taken crucial steps towards a demand driven system of schooling, while New York lawmakers can’t quite seem to embrace the concept.
This leaves Florida’s system not only more pluralistic, diverse and efficient than the New York system, it also performs the task of teaching the basics at a much higher level.
New York fourth graders in 1998 scored approximately a year’s worth of learning higher than their peers in New York. In the most recent NAEP, it was New York who were a grade level behind Florida despite a much higher level of spending per pupil.
It’s worth mentioning that Florida pulled off this higher level of performance with a much lower state and local tax burden.
Target the moving van companies! We need these serfs to pay their taxes and like it!
New Yorkers have been fleeing to Florida in record numbers, but the question seems to be not why so many have made the change, but rather: Why are so many still there?
YAHOOO! You’re all clear, Florida! Let’s rescue New York families and go home!
The Wall Street Journal recently published the below graph showing Florida as the going away migration winner of recent years (left-side chart) with the pace accelerating in the second year of the pandemic. California, New York and Illinois meanwhile have been losing income at an accelerating rate.
When the 2022 data comes out, it seems likely to produce more of the same based on the population trend data from July 2021 to July 2022:
Dark green on this map, signifying a net domestic and foreign migration gain of greater than 50,000 people, concentrates in Arizona (93k), Texas (350k), Tennessee (90k), North Carolina (126k), South Carolina (95k), Georgia (109k). Florida however was the biggest winner of all, with a net migration gain of 444,000 people.
A growing population certainly brings challenges, but they are the kinds of problems you want to have. Florida produces superior public services to California, Illinois and New York at a much lower tax burden. Not surprisingly, people have noticed and have voted with their feet. Look for this trend to grow.
The famous inscription on the Statue of Liberty reads:
The Statue of Liberty has long welcomed migrants to the United States, but it no longer seems appropriate to have her torch lifted in a state that Americans increasingly seek to flee. Perhaps a move south would be in order.
Florida is America’s New Colossus.
