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Culture War Roundup for the week of August 5, 2024

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I'm a Pennsylvania voter so you're all stuck with me :)

I agree blue states have done a terrible job on building housing, and housing costs are really the main driver of outmigration, plus boomers retiring to the sunbelt. I'd be a single issue voter for any party that could credibly increase the housing supply in high demand areas.

I'd be a single issue voter for any party that could credibly increase the housing supply in high demand areas.

Isn't that party just the GOP? Like it's more a state and local issue than federal, but when you look at places with unified Republican control and a lot of people wanting to live there you're looking at places like Texas which does in fact build a lot of housing.

Actually it's probably tax policy beyond anything.

Because if it were housing policy, the outmigration should be driving house pricing back down towards 'affordable' levels too.

You get guys like Bezos and/or Billy Joel ducking out of places with income tax to places without it, it seems pretty obvious.

And you can argue he's not representative, but Musk moving his companies to Texas also indicates the issues blue states are creating for themselves.

But again, you do you. Just silly to scapegoat MAGA when you can't point to places where MAGA actually has political control of government and are 'a drag on the nation,' compared to places where blue tribe controls government and is literally driving people away.

The reason for business relocations to Texas is probably actually regulations, not taxes. Texas is not a low tax state, despite advertising as such, and while plenty of ordinary middle class people might make that mistake businesses probably don’t.

And Texas is the biggest beneficiary thereof, so it’s not as if this is an exception that tests the rule. It’s the trendsetter.