Brain Drain: Political Pandering

Another Rust Belt politician pushing the brain drain panic button:

Revenues are down. But tax increases are not a viable option because, in New York, taxes are already too high. [Gov. David A. Paterson] notes with shame that people are leaving, not just rust belt upstate, but many parts of New York, not always because they can’t get jobs, but often because they can create their own jobs and are choosing to do so in New Jersey or Georgia. All eight Western New York counties lost population last year, as did four of the state’s largest five counties, and the entire state grew by just 15,741 residents — well below the national average.

I'm throwing rotting cabbage at the screen. Not too long ago, the Buffalo Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank noted that the problem wasn't brain drain, but brain gain. Nice to see that the Governor of New York has such a firm grasp of the issue.