In Austin, Texas, last week, a software engineer named Trever—recently arrived from the San Francisco area after “the vibes got bad”—stood outside a responsibly sourced coffee shop and explained to a local that the city’s rising property taxes, homelessness, drug use, and the new smash-and-grab at the Whole Foods “troubled him.”
asserted
smash → name → him
Trever had voted, he added proudly, for the feel-good Democrat candidates last week, James Talerico, who promised housing mandates, expanded social services, affordability, free healthcare, and unicorns.
asserted
who → vote → mandates
When the local asked whether any of this sounded familiar, Trevor just stared blankly.
asserted
Trevor → ask → this
If you think Trevor had a bad week, just remember all the other Californians who moved to Texas to escape the left-wing politics that ruined that state.
asserted
that → think → state
If California got even more woke, Vanilla Wafers would come with a Trigger Warning.
asserted
Wafers → get → Warning
I paid $2.84 for gas yesterday.
asserted
I → pay → gas
Gas prices are still so high, and traffic is so bad in California; kidnap victims are no longer driven to a second location.
asserted
victims → drive → location
(RELATED: California’s High-Price Petroleum Virus May Spread Across The West, Analyst Says)
uncertain
Analyst → spread → West
We may never win another election if Californians do not stay in California.
uncertain
Californians → win → California
I almost voted for Democrat judges because I may want to murder someone someday, and it would be a bummer to have to go to prison for it.
Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed is declaring Michigan the “Arab Capital of America.”
uncertain
Michigan → vote → America
Well, Sharia Law might not be all bad for us guys; my wife has been getting a bit mouthy.
uncertain
wife → get → guys
He will be nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Short.
asserted
He → nominate → Short
El Sayed might as well name his state Michigan-istan.
uncertain
Sayed → name → state
Upon hearing this, Israel has started to convince Trump that Michigan-istan is only weeks away from developing a nuclear weapon.
asserted
istan → hear → weapon
For more than a decade, people have been voting with their U-Hauls.
asserted
people → vote → Hauls
Americans have been conducting a large, unsupervised experiment in political geography.
asserted
Americans → conduct → geography
People leave California, New York, Illinois, and New Jersey because the taxes are high, the streets are less safe, the schools are terrible, and the housing market has been regulated into unaffordability.
asserted
market → leave → unaffordability
They move to Texas, Florida, Tennessee, and the Carolinas.
asserted
They → move → Texas
Census numbers show the pattern clearly: blue states lose hundreds of thousands of residents a year to red ones.
asserted
states → show → ones
The movers cite cost of living, crime, and quality of life.
asserted
movers → cite → life
They do not, as a rule, cite a sudden conversion to limited government.
asserted
They → cite → government
The least surprising part: property taxes in the new suburbs start climbing to fund the expanded services the newcomers requested.
asserted
newcomers → start → services
Crime rates in previously quiet cities tick upward after local prosecutors adopt the “root causes” approach that emptied jails.
asserted
that → tick → jails
School boards that once focused on reading scores discover “equity frameworks.”
asserted
that → focus → frameworks
Housing becomes more expensive again once zoning and environmental reviews return in force.
asserted
reviews → become → force
The newcomers look at the numbers, look at the crime map, and declare that something has gone wrong—somehow blaming Republicans, or “late-stage capitalism.”
asserted
something → look → Republicans
(RELATED: Democrat DA Pushed Racial Equity As Crime Spiked Before Horrific Train Stabbing)
asserted
Crime → push → Stabbing
What they rarely say is that the policies produced the same results in the old place.
asserted
policies → say → place
California’s housing shortage was not caused by a shortage of compassionate people; it was caused by decades of rules that made it illegal to build enough homes.
asserted
it → cause → homes
New York’s subway crime problem was not mysterious; it tracked the decision to stop enforcing certain laws.
asserted
it → track → laws
Illinois’ pension crisis was not an act of God; it was the predictable outcome of promising benefits without funding them.
asserted
it → promise → them
When the same leftist levers are pulled in a new state, it produces the same output.
asserted
it → pull → output
He will have two 4-year terms, punctuated by Biden’s 22 percent cumulative inflation for his four years.
asserted
He → have → years
Trump has killed more RINOs than Teddy Roosevelt.
asserted
Trump → kill → Roosevelt
And there were other mistakes: a war of choice, balking on the Epstein Files release, bragging when he should be explaining, and being tone deaf on abortion.
asserted
he → be → abortion
In Red States now, if you want an abortion, you still have choices: the Moderna, JNJ, or Pfizer vaccine.
asserted
you → want → choices
Not to worry, sources close to the White House tell me that Trump will work all this out in his 3rd term.
The midterms simply accelerated a process that was already visible in county-level data and moving-company statistics.
asserted
that → worry → data
The destinations are becoming more like the origins, one school board and one prosecutor’s race at a time.
asserted
destinations → become → time
The people who left will, in a few years, have new reasons to leave again.
asserted
who → leave → reasons
A libertarian op-ed humorist and award-winning author, Ron does commentary on radio and TV.
asserted
Ron → win → radio
…and 2 more, not listed.
The Aporia
