Chris Edwards Grades States on Tax Policy and Examines the Exodus from High-Tax to Low-Tax States It’s often said that “money talks; BS walks,” but previous guests on my show have marshaled hard evidence that money walks, too. IRS data shows that it tends to walk from places with high taxes and poor quality governance to places with lower taxes and a better business climate.

Back in 2013, when I interviewed Travis Brown on his book How Money Walks, the caravan of Californians to lower-tax states had already begun. Hundreds of thousands of former residents of the Golden State have traded fools gold for silver — leaving for Nevada, not to mention Texas, Florida, and Oregon. This mass exodus of citizens is hitting California’s state budget especially hard, since our state relies on the income tax more than most.

Five years later, it’s time to revisit the subject with the Cato Institute’s director of tax policy studies, Chris Edwards, who has a new white paper out grading every state governor on fiscal performance. Governor Jerry Brown of California gets a “D.” I think this is generous, yet I still choose to live here. Perhaps my decision, and that of millions of others like me who have stuck around, explains why the government hasn’t been more responsive — yet.