The Rich Bailing on Maryland

[nathanm]

Either the folks who left were high enough income to matter, in which case modest income gains among the lower (but still above median) income cohorts would not be enough to offset the loss or they're not much above the median, in which case why does anybody care? Remember, Maryland overperformed relative to its peers.

All of this is beside the point anyway. There's simply no way the aggregate data can be construed to show some terrible issue created by the millionaire's tax.

Having pulled the Maryland SOI tables for 2007 and 2010, the number of returns with an AGI greater than $200,000 actually increased. I'd go higher on the income scale, but the 2007 data doesn't have a breakdown above $200,000 as the 2010 data does. Total income reported by the cohort also increased. If 31,000 people left, that's OK, they were clearly replaced either by people moving up the income scale or by migrants. We are a nation of movers, after all.

Conan, there is not any less of that activity now that the rich pay a far smaller share of their income than they did in the 70s. One would expect the opposite if tax rates really mattered in that respect. I guess we could reduce them to zero, but I'm not sure what that would really get us except a breakdown in civil society.

[Ed W]

Well crap Ed. I don't have to go now. I'll just reread this post and vacay vicariously through you.  Good job...

My experience was only a tiny part of what's available, Guido.  One of my supervisors went for a walking vacation, going from one B&B to another each night, with meals in pubs.  I'd love to do the same if only I could walk that far again.

BTW, there were billboards saying "Guinness is Good for You!"  I tried to derive as much goodness as possible while I was there.