Apparently, Rick Perry of Texas isn’t the only Republican governor who has New York in his sights. We recently spoke with Florida’s governor, Rick Scott, at a dinner sponsored by The American Spectator. And there we learned that he was here as part of an effort to persuade New York-based businesses to consider the benefits of relocating to the Sunshine State.
Not that he’s been hiding his intentions. The governor’s visit to New York was preceded by an open letter that begins bluntly: “Do you like paying higher taxes to do business in New York?”
“Florida,” he went on to note, is a “right-to-work state with no personal income tax, low business taxes, great teachers, [and] the best beaches in the world.”
The facts back him up: CEO Magazine ranked Florida the second-best state in the nation in which to do business, while the Tax Foundation’s State Business Tax Climate ranks it fifth — against dead last for New York. And Scott says his state’s not resting on its laurels, promising to “phase out [Florida’s] corporate income tax.” He’s getting there: Today, 70 percent of Florida businesses pay no income tax.
The comparisons are telling. Despite having roughly the same population, New York’s budget is almost twicethat of Florida. Scott’s cut taxes 24 times since he took office in January 2011. Maybe that helps explain why, after being nearly devastated by the real-estate collapse, Florida’s unemployment is today falling at twice the national rate.
The interesting thing about Scott is that he’s not just looking to go after the low-hanging fruit like New York. At the same dinner where we saw him, he shared a story of being at a conference with Gov. Perry, whom he approached and told, “Governor, I’m coming for you and aim to kick your butt!”
Scott meant that Texas had become the gold standard for creating a hospitable job-creating environment. Instead of trying to diminish Perry or deny his achievements, Scott sees him and Texas as models to emulate — and work to surpass.
All lessons we could use here. New York is an important state with many top-notch businesses that would prefer to stay here. But crippling taxes, overregulation and government overspending are putting the squeeze on the people who create wealth and opportunity for our state.
The test for Gov. Cuomo and our political class is not cooking up some proposal that delivers a little relief around the edges. It’s a program for reform that a New York governor can take to Florida and Texas to persuade their businesses to come here.