Red states get it: Economic freedom beats blue-state gimmicks



After enduring state and local COVID policies that wreaked havoc on the economy, followed by historic inflation that delivered a resounding election victory to Donald Trump, you would think that state and local politicians would learn some economic lessons.

Apparently not. Politicians from blue and red states seem to be getting their lessons from very different schools.

If blue states don’t begin to understand how economics work, they are going to continue to see their power centers dwindle.

In red states, politicians want to enable economic freedom. Property taxes, which impose a heavy, lifelong burden on real estate owners, have been a subject of several politicians looking to improve the opportunity to participate in the American dream of home ownership. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is looking at a state constitutional amendment to potentially eradicate property taxes in the state.

Reviving the American dream

Cliff Maloney, CEO of the strategic grassroots organization Citizens Alliance, explained to Blaze News the significance of this lesson:

When you think about it, you never truly own your home. If you miss just a few tax payments, they’ll seize your property that you saved for and worked so hard to make a home. That’s not freedom — that’s essentially just rent to the state. Our internal data shows that out of the 510,000 Americans we’ve talked to, more than 82% said property taxes are a major concern. They're infuriated that while they're being forced to cut their own budgets to survive in today's economy, local governments refuse to do the same.

While not going quite as far as DeSantis, Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) is also trying to deliver some tax relief to property owners, with others in the state working to figure out how to get rid of property taxes in the long term.

Maloney also mentioned that Citizens Alliance's door-knocking and advocacy efforts in New Hampshire “led to abolishing 14 taxes and fees, which has produced a dramatic influx of businesses moving to the state from other nearby states that have a higher tax burden.”

All of this stems from smart economic lessons. Lessons that very blue states have failed to learn.

Democrats haven’t learned anything

After witnessing the inflationary effects of COVID-era stimulus checks — a result that was highly unpopular politically — one might assume politicians would steer clear of repeating the same mistake.

That’s not the case in New York, where Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) is laughably handing out “inflation refund” checks, a move even other Democrats are calling a political gimmick — not to mention a bad economic move.

RELATED: How California’s crisis could lead to a big political shift

 Carsten Schertzer via iStock/Getty Images

In Virginia, former Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger, now running for governor, has pledged to raise the minimum wage to $15, another form of market intervention that creates barriers to employment and increases costs.

In Minneapolis, city leaders are considering adding a 2% fee to hotel rooms in an effort to boost tourism — because, apparently, making hotels more expensive is always a good way to get more people to your city.

The people have spoken

Given the importance of the economy to Americans, it’s no surprise that Americans are moving from blue states to red ones. Maloney shared:

We've had the unique opportunity to talk to a lot of new residents during our door-knocking campaigns, and in doing so, our data uncovered that 69% of new residents moved for financial reasons. In 41% of these cases, this was because they were no longer able to afford the skyrocketing cost of living in blue states, while 13% were because of new, better-paying job opportunities.

If blue states don’t begin to understand how economics work, they will continue to see their power centers dwindle. Math doesn’t lie. People are taking their capital and spending power to the states where the math works.

North Carolina counties demand full property tax payments — even for homes wiped out by Helene



Residents of several counties in North Carolina are still on the hook for the full payment of their property taxes, officials warn, even if their homes were destroyed by Hurricane Helene.

In late September, Helene battered the mountainous region of Western North Carolina and the surrounding states, causing massive floods that swept many structures away or left them in a pile of rubble. As a result, some residents remain in RVs or even tents, despite winter temperatures, as Blaze News previously reported.

Though the devastation in the area is unprecedented, state law requires property tax payments to be paid by midnight on January 6, no matter what. So county leaders say their hands are tied.

"Please be aware: North Carolina law does not allow property tax waivers or exceptions due to natural disasters," read an online statement from Buncombe County, one of those hardest hit by Helene. "Regardless of circumstances stemming from Hurricane Helene, property taxes are still due by Jan. 6. The Tax Office is here to help you figure out a plan, so please contact us as soon as possible."

'No one should be forced to pay property taxes on a home that no longer exists. This is common sense.'

Matt Van Swol, an Asheville resident who has carefully chronicled on X the underwhelming state and federal government response to Helene, was dumbfounded by the intransigence on the part of local and state leaders.

"No one should be forced to pay property taxes on a home that no longer exists. This is common sense," Van Swol wrote on Monday.

Government websites for Henderson, Jackson, Rutherford, and Transylvania Counties gave similar reminders about the January 6 deadline for property tax payments, even as many still offer links to those still needing assistance in connection with Hurricane Helene.

Additionally, most properties will still be taxed at their 2024, pre-storm value. For residents of Eastern North Carolina, which avoided the brunt of Hurricane Helene, some of those values went through the roof, resulting in a shocking 2024 tax bill.

Rumors recently spread throughout Johnson County about tax bills that jumped by as much as 75% from 2023. While the county acknowledged a 70.6% value increase countywide, it tried to quell growing concerns by noting that property taxes and property values do not increase at the same rate.

"It is important to note that a 70.6% increase in property value does not equate to a 70.6% increase in property taxes," said a county statement issued on January 6. "Tax rates for 2025 will be set by the County, districts, and municipalities in June, with tax bills expected to be mailed around August 1, 2025."

Concerns about property taxes have prompted action in neighboring Tennessee, another state hit hard by Helene. Though the tax deadline there isn't until February, lawmakers are hoping to call a special session this month to pass tax-related measures and bring some relief.

Republican state Rep. Tim Hicks supports a measure that would exempt hurricane victims from 2024 taxes. They also "won't get taxed again for those property taxes until their property is made whole again," he explained in December.

"I would think that all legislators across the state will be on board with that."

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Tennesseans still on hook for state property taxes despite devastation from Hurricane Helene — at least for now



Tennesseans still reeling from the effects of Hurricane Helene will have to pay state property taxes unless lawmakers move to provide some relief.

State residents and their political leaders have been discussing the issue of property taxes for months, ever since Hurricane Helene devastated the region back in late September.

A few weeks after the storm, the IRS stepped in and postponed the deadline for filing or paying certain taxes until May 1, 2025, at least for beleaguered property and/or business owners in Carter, Claiborne, Cocke, Grainger, Greene, Hamblen, Hancock, Hawkins, Jefferson, Johnson, Sevier, Sullivan, Unicoi, and Washington Counties.

"Penalties on payroll and excise tax deposits due on or after Sept. 26, 2024, and before Oct. 11, 2024, will be abated as long as the tax deposits are made by Oct. 11, 2024," said the IRS press release issued November 7.

Leaders in Nashville have yet to officially adjust, suspend, or extend deadlines for property taxes at the state level, though at least one bill is in the works.

Republican state Rep. Tim Hicks has backed a measure that would provide tremendous relief for affected residents. If the measure becomes law, "any home or any family that was affected by the flood will be exempt from paying property taxes for the year 2024, and they won't get taxed again for those property taxes until their property is made whole again," Hicks explained, according to WCYB.

The same tax exemptions would go into effect in the case of future disasters as well.

"I would think that all legislators across the state will be on board with that," Hicks said.

'It would mean a heck of a lot. A heck of a lot.'

Hicks told WCYB that legislators, already scheduled to meet next month, intend to call a special session to vote on that and other Helene-related bills before the deadline for filing property taxes comes along in February.

"We’re trying to get all the relief efforts up here that we can."

For months, state officials have expressed concerns about the plight of storm victims in Tennessee. Back in November, Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury Jason Mumpower told WJHL that "the legislature and Gov. [Bill] Lee have a strong desire to help the property owners affected."

However, just what that "help" should look like has not yet been determined.

Some officials noted, for example, that the affected properties — most of which are located in Northeastern Tennessee — enjoyed normal value for about three-quarters of 2024 and that some owners have already paid their taxes in full. Thus, tax relief may come in the form of proration or retrospectively awarded grants, among other possibilities.

"The key to helping them is knowing exactly how much damage has occurred, what the extent of the damage [is] people have suffered to their homes, to their businesses. So we have been working with assessors since the storm occurred," Mumpower said.

"We want to be sure by the time the legislature returns in January that they have a firm understanding of the dollar amount, of the extent of the damage people have suffered so that they can provide the best assistance," he added.

For residents like David Harris and his wife, who have been living in a camper on their property in the Nolichucky River Valley between Knoxville and Winston-Salem ever since Helene wiped out their home, that relief can't come soon enough.

"It means a lot because when you lose everything, you got to replace stuff," David Harris told WCYB, "and we're retired with not such a great salary. It would mean a heck of a lot. A heck of a lot."

"We don't want to think about property taxes right now."

H/T: Matt Van Swol

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Government mix-up leads taxpaying homeowner in Chicago to have house sold from underneath her



A Chicago woman is fighting to keep her home after a government mix-up led officials to sell her house from underneath her on account of supposedly "delinquent taxes."

Robin McElroy bought her home in the Morgan Park area of Chicago back in 2012. Since then, she said she has paid the taxes owed on the property and even kept receipts of her payments.

"I do not like wasting money. ... I pay my bills," McElroy told CBS News.

Despite those consistent payments, in 2019, McElroy began receiving notices that her property taxes were in arrears and that her property was in danger of being sold.

McElroy demanded an explanation. In April 2019, she received a letter from the Cook County Treasurer's Office confirming that the county assessor's office had accidentally mixed up McElroy's property identification number — the unique 14-digit number used for tax-related purposes, according to Yahoo News — with that of her next-door neighbor.

She was then told that there were "no grounds to proceed with a sale" of her home, that the assessor's office would make an "internal correction," and that the issue would be resolved. "Don't worry about it," she recalled being told.

'I want what's rightfully owed to me.'

It turns out, McElroy still had plenty to worry about since the "internal correction" the letter promised apparently never took place. Earlier this year, she received a letter from Cook County Circuit Court informing her that her house had been "sold for delinquent taxes."

In fact, the letter added that McElroy actually owed the new homeowner three years' worth of rent. Bearing no ill will, McElroy expressed sincere concern for all the trouble that the other homeowner has had to endure as well.

"This lady should not have to be put in this position to go through all of this headache and heartache," she told CBS News. "This is stressful."

McElroy has since hired a lawyer — paid for out of pocket — to help her straighten out the problem.

CBS News has also been in contact with the assessor's office. While a spokesperson there declined an on-camera interview, the office did confirm that the property identification numbers had been corrected, that McElroy is current on her taxes, and that officials are currently working with a legal team to resolve the problem.

McElroy remains skeptical.

"You guys can point fingers all day long. I don't care," she told CBS News. "I want what's rightfully owed to me."

McElroy had a deadline earlier this month to file a response in court, the outlet added. Whether she filed that response and whether the court has issued any other rulings remain unclear.

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