California Dreamin'

You can ignore the laws of economics.   You can pretend that human nature is not self-interested.   You can imagine that higher taxes won't change human behavior, as human beings adapt and take action to protect their wealth and enhance their own families' futures.   But facts is facts.   At the end of the day, reality always wins:

About 100,000 more people moved away from California in 2011 than relocated to the Golden State, according to the latest report from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The trend can be explained, in part, in monetary terms. Even in an economic boom, the cost of living in California has increased, prompting people to move out, and, in recent years, unemployment in the state has skyrocketed.

So, where are these former Californians going?

The Census Bureau calculates that the most popular destination is Texas (58,992), a state that is luring California companies.

Hmmmm... the reporter at the NBC SoCal affiliate seems to have missed an obvious cause... California's state income tax is the highest in the nation, and Texas' is zero.   Think that has anything to do with why companies and individiuals might decide that a thousand mile move is worth it?