#5SmartReads - May 26, 2021

Wait, California Has Lower Middle-Class Taxes Than Texas? (Bloomberg)

In this country, we put a big emphasis on income taxes.

We really need to talk about the effective tax rate more and more. And HOUSING COSTS. (And childcare costs, but that’s for an entirely different day and article).

In any case, this article did a nice job of explaining why it’s not just taxes that’s driving the California > Texas migration that was outlined in this article.

I do wonder if state laws will affect this migration. Two recent ones in Texas - no license/training to purchase a firearm in Texas and the heartbeat bill - are two that are top of my mind. These laws will be litigated in the courts, so their fates are still to be determined. But I wonder if this is at all a factor for the people moving to Texas, and how much if so.