The Last Ephor

As I was saying the other day, capital flight is a reality. Technology only accelerates that reality: Taxpayers Go Where Taxes Are Low : "Contiguous with the Empire State, Connecticut still is smarting over the relocation of hedge-fund manager Edward Lampert. With an estimated net worth of $3 billion, according to Forbes, Lampert was considered the fifth-wealthiest man in the Nutmeg State. In August 2011, Connecticut increased taxes by $875 million, retroactively to that January. It cut the maximum property-tax credit from $500 to $300 and lifted its top state income-tax rate from 6.5 percent to 6.7 percent. Then, on June 1, 2012, Lampert moved his company, ESL Investments, to Florida. Lampert also took with him the $10.6 billion that ESL reportedly controlled at that time. “We are all aware that the changes to the tax structure in Connecticut last year have given many people pause as to whether this is the best place to do business and reside,” Greenwich first selectman Pet...

One of the maxims I was continually hammered with when I was an undergrad was "Capital has legs". I understood the concept well enough but not the typical reasons behind it. In b-school they talk more about economies of scale, competitive advantage, capital formation, strategy vs. structure etc. As I remember it, we only talked about regulatory pressure and its effects in international business courses. That said, I've been beating my head against this particular wall with local liberals who have no concept that the businesses that have been lured here by the State are not here only for the Court of the Chancery and the well defined case law. Rather, Delaware allows the highest possible interest rates for lending as well as very good deals for corporations in terms of taxes and fees . Wall Street and it's attendant industries are the lifeblood of NYC. Without Wall Street and its employees to tax NYC is broke and I fear what would become of the place should they...