High Taxes & Spending Are Driving Businesses Away: Jonathan Williams on The Hugh Hewitt Show
States can’t build walls to keep their taxpayers or businesses there.
During a recent appearance on The Hugh Hewitt Show, ALEC President and Chief Economist Jonathan Williams discussed the impact of high taxes and government spending in driving businesses away from states like New York and California.
Williams began the conversation with guest host Duane Patterson by pointing to the latest business exodus: In-N-Out Burger’s decision to relocate its headquarters to Tennessee. “If that isn’t the case in point of California’s problems of high taxes and high spending now for way too many years to count,” he said, “In-N-Out Burger decides to relocate the headquarters, as their owners just announced recently, to Tennessee, a state… that’s second best for economic outlook, while California is perennially in the bottom five.”
That move, Williams argued, reflects a broader trend. “Yet another business [is] leaving the former Golden State for better, more rational, common sense public policy in a state like Tennessee,” he highlighted.
The discussion then shifted to New York City, where mayoral candidate Zoran Mamdani has proposed publicly owned grocery stores as a way to address food affordability. Mamdani has defended his plan in media appearances, but Williams expressed sharp skepticism, suggesting that the real problem lies with government itself.
“Maybe we should start with government bloat and high taxes and high spending in New York City. Maybe just address the root cause,” he emphasized. Drawing a historical comparison, he added, “Not too many socialists turn out to be people who look out for affordability at the end of the day because they look to grow government every single time.”
The affordability theme carried into the final topic of the interview: state tax policy. Williams pointed listeners to ALEC’s Rich States, Poor States economic outlook rankings as a guide for understanding how taxes shape business decisions. High taxes, he warned, continue to push people and companies out of blue states.
“You tax the rich and you lose the rich,” Williams commented. “States can’t build walls to keep their taxpayers or businesses there. This is the example of why New York and California and Maryland… have continued to hemorrhage individuals and businesses to the other states across the country.”
By contrast, Williams noted, “More than 25 states have been aggressively cutting taxes,” with two even moving to eliminate income taxes entirely.
The conversation concluded with a preview of the 2025 States & Nation Policy Summit in Fort Worth, Texas. “It’s going to be America is one of the largest gathering conservatives across the country this year,” Williams emphasized. “We’re going to be reflecting on a great year in the States.”