Numerous businesses, celebrities, and everyday folks have been fleeing blue states for red ones since 2020. Under Joe Biden’s Administration, red states have become far more livable than states like California, New York, and Washington. Taxes, insane regulations, and spiraling crime have led those who can, to leave the crumbling blue states.
Life in a red state is simply better. Tennessee, Florida, Texas, and other red states have been gaining massive amounts of people and industry, while blue states bleed tax revenue and businesses. It is hard to blame any person or business for leaving when the state government is always in your pocket and in your business.
The most recent major player to peace out from Blue America is everyone’s favorite quick delivery boss and wannabe astronaut, Jeff Bezos. Bezos, 59, recently announced he is ditching the birthplace of Amazon and heading to warmer, sunnier climes.
Late Thursday, Bezos posted a farewell to Seattle on his Instagram as he prepares to pick up and move to South Florida with his fiancee, Lauren Sanchez. The billionaire businessman grew up in Miami but made his fortune in his Seattle garage, creating Amazon, a service that is as iconic as McDonald’s in 2023 America.
Bezos claims he is making the move in part to be closer to his parents, who recently moved back to the Sunshine State. He also noted that his space exploration company, Blue Origin, is increasingly shifting its operations to Cape Canaveral, Florida.
In the farewell video, Bezos said: “Seattle has been my home since 1994 when I started Amazon out of my garage. I’ve lived in Seattle longer than I’ve lived anywhere else and have so many amazing memories here. As exciting as the move is, it’s an emotional decision for me. Seattle, you will always have a piece of my heart.”
The move was expected, as Bezos recently purchased a $79 million dollar mansion in an area called “Billionaire Bunker” island. Not coincidentally, the site is next to the $68 million dollar estate he purchased two months ago.
The island also boasts residents Adriana Lima, property magnate Jeff Soffer, singer-songwriter Julio Iglesias, and car dealership mogul Norman Braman among its exclusive homeowners. However, sentimentality, or a return home, may not be all that is driving Bezos out of Washington State.
If Bezos chooses to sell Amazon shares as a Florida resident, he will experience a higher profit. Unlike Washington State, Florida does not feature a capital gains tax, so the selling of assets by the billionaire would yield much higher profits. Washington recently enacted a 7% tax on the sale of financial assets, and while that doesn’t sound like much to the average American when you have as many zeros in your bank account as Bezos does, 7% is a lot of money.
Whatever the reason Bezos is giving for fleeing Washington, it is clear that Florida is gaining favor with businesses and people in general. The low taxes, freedom, and weather are an unbeatable combination and factor in the conservative policies and tough-on-crime law enforcement, and it is a no-brainer in terms of hospitable living.
