Beaches, Sunshine, Disney World, and No State Income tax?
Florida’s shift toward conservative policies has delivered considerable gains in economic growth, population influx, and fiscal stability. The state has also experienced strong net in-migration, ranking among national leaders in population gains for years. This movement has coincided with job creation, new business formations, and economic expansion. Florida has led the nation in entrepreneurship, with millions of new business entities formed during Governor Ron DeSantis’s tenure and consistently ranking among the top in new business applications. It has been recognized for fiscal responsibility, including controlled spending growth, tax relief, budget reserves, debt reduction, and one of the lowest numbers of state employees per capita among large states.
Florida maintains no state income tax. Under DeSantis, the state pursued additional tax relief, including corporate tax adjustments, the full repeal of the commercial rent tax (saving businesses billions annually), and proposals for significant property tax reductions. State revenues have grown despite these measures, supporting reserves and targeted investments while keeping overall tax burdens competitive. Private-sector employment has grown robustly (roughly 11.7% since 2020 in some analyses, adding hundreds of thousands of jobs), with broad gains across professional services, healthcare, transportation, and other sectors. Universal school choice has become a hallmark: nearly 1.4 million students participate in various choice options (private scholarships, charters, etc.), and Florida has repeatedly ranked #1 in education freedom.
Florida’s contrast with high-tax, high-regulation states is dramatic. New York City’s 2025 election of Zohran Mamdani—a Democratic Socialist of America member who took office as mayor on January 1, 2026—offers a recent example. Mamdani campaigned on rent freezes, free buses, universal childcare, and other expansive progressive priorities. Even before and especially after his election, the long-running New York-to-Florida migration accelerated. Reports documented more than 125,000 New Yorkers relocating to Florida in recent years, taking nearly $14 billion in income with them; South Florida realtors and developers noted sharp spikes in inquiries and sales from New York (and California) buyers (sometimes branded a “Mamdani effect”) as high earners and middle-class families sought lower taxes, more affordable housing relative to earnings, and a different policy climate. Florida has repeatedly ranked among the top destinations for net domestic migration and taxable income inflows from New York, California, Illinois, and other high-tax states.
Wisconsin faces an unfavorable reality due to progressive policy trends. Governor Evers’ 400-year property tax increase has contributed to sharp rises in property tax bills, including a roughly 7.8% jump in the K-12 portion, the largest in decades. Radical green-energy goals, higher overall tax burdens, and fiscal approaches that prioritize spending growth over competitive tax relief have compounded the pressure. Comparative data show Florida and other lower-tax, higher-economic-freedom states outperforming high-tax jurisdictions in migration, business formation, and growth. At the same time, Wisconsin has seen residents and income move toward states with greater economic freedom. Florida is a consistent top destination for those leaving Wisconsin.
If Wisconsin does not change course, Governor DeSantis’s warning will ring true: Wisconsinites will flee to lower taxes and more prosperity. Adopting similar approaches (expanding genuine school choice so funding follows the student, streamlining regulations to encourage entrepreneurship, pursuing meaningful tax relief, and emphasizing limited government and fiscal discipline) could position Wisconsin to retain and attract families, workers, and employers. Florida’s record demonstrates tangible results from a sustained policy direction that prioritizes economic freedom over progressive experiments. Wisconsin can and needs to draw on these examples and the visible outflows from places like New York City under socialist-leaning leadership to advance prosperity for its residents through more conservative reforms.
