Whenever I read the news from around the Buffalo area and New York State, I become more and more worried about this region of the country. We suffer from some of the highest property taxes, sales tax, and “non-sense” fees (such as auto registrations) in the country. New York City, for all its charm, sucks up an awful lot of Upstate's tax dollars.
And our Buffalo-area economy was in the crapper long before the national economy followed suit. (Consequently, this has made the current recession much more status-quo in this region than others.) Jobs were sparse around here, and have only grown more sparse.
As for our weather, well, Buffalo’s known for some awful cold and snow in the winter, spring, fall, and occasionally summer. Ok, so summer is a bit of a stretch—but I’ve seen blizzards during the other three seasons.
As I read about the political dealings within our State’s bi-cameral legislature, and listen to the quips of our creepy governor, I begin to think that our leaders are corrupt and could care less about the quagmire this state is in. I think it’s time to leave, and statistics encompassed in a Buffalo News front-page story yesterday show that the sentiment is shared.
What led into this feature was an article Monday about a local business choosing to relocate to Florida rather than continue to endure New York’s heavy handed tax burdens.
As companies leave New York for sunnier pastures, I believe I may need to chase after them I ever want a career that goes beyond retail. The more I learn about the tax and political structure of New York, the more I consider myself among the 10% of New Yorkers saying they want to high tail it out of here as fast as they can. Better weather in another region of the country? That's just icing on the cake.
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