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Comment by ryanSrich | Hacker News Reader

Yeah crazy to think that people like cheap houses and no income tax /s.

But in all seriousness. The ROI on California taxes has to be one of the worst deals in the country. I can’t think of another state (maybe NY) that does so little with so much.

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California sits right at the national average for state and local revenue per capita. The real high-tax states are places like NY, NJ, CT, and MA.

I’m not talking about tax burden, I’m talking about tax ROI. Essentially what you get in return for your taxes. You could argue that Texas is objectively a worse state to live in tax-wise because you essentially get nothing in return for your taxes. Not even a fully functioning power grid (that you still have to pay usage rates for). So tax rates are low, but return on what you do pay is even lower.

But I’m talking about California. They have high tax rates across the board, certainly not the highest as you’ve pointed out. However, even with high rates, the citizenry gets almost nothing in return.

What service specifically do you believe that comparable states provide but California lacks? Considering the fact that the bulk of taxes and services are local, I am moderately satisfied with fire fighting, law enforcement, education, libraries, parks, sanitation, transportation, and the state poet laureate. Each could be improved in some way, but I think that is true in any state.

I get a nice road system both in the terms of condition and reach from TX, don't know what else is state supposed to give me. Can't complain about the grid too, though I get the electricity from the city it's pretty reliable and cheap. I did not get state electricity in CA either, but the city's utility in LA was much less reliable and much more expensive. I suppose states have their input here through banning the construction of power plants.

In Texas I’ve been without power for a total of three days in last 15 years and that was a once in a century event

Serendipitously, this tweet popped up almost right before I read your comment - https://twitter.com/ybarrap/status/1606319917229228032?s=46&...

I don’t think it’s outrageous to say Texas has one of the worst power grids in the nation. Regardless of your personal experience.

I'm in 94022 (served by PG&E) and in July 2022 there was a 13% chance I would lose power on any given day. I had more than 40 total hours of down time that month.

High winds and ice downed some power lines around the state. That is not a bad power grid lol that’s just what happens when storms blow through.

No clue what it is now but the state tax was 5.3% in the 00’s when we lived in mass. Prop tax was typical for house prices. It has a high tax rate reputation but this might be as bad as one thinks.

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