Here is something Democrats should take note of: people will leave high tax areas and move to more hospitalble climes. This is from the blog "dissecting Leftism:"

"California, which once lured Americans from near and far, is now driving out millions of the most productive residents - including high percentages of the most affluent.

"When California faced a Mount Everest-sized $14 billion deficit in 2003, one of the major causes for the red ink was the stampede of millionaire households from the state," says a report called "Rich States, Poor States" by economists Arthur Laffer and Stephen Moore. "Out of the 25,000 or so seven-figure-income families, more than 5,000 left in the early 2000s, and the loss of their tax payments accounted for about half the budget hole.

" And it's not just the rich leaving. Based on data from moving companies, California had the second-highest domestic population out-flow of any state in 2005, according to the report, "despite the beautiful weather, beaches, and mountains." The bad news for California is that it faces a $14 billion deficit this year, despite boasting one of the highest tax burdens in the nation."
Talking heads are commenting on the economic differences in Texas and Ohio. Texas is a low tax state, and is growing and has low unemployment while Ohio has high unemployment and is losing population. Ohio has "closed shop" laws that require workers to belong to unions whether they want to or not. Texas is an "open shop" state. It seems lost on Democrats that the high income people leave high tax states. They don't seem to realize that at some point high income people will leave a high tax country. For native born people leaving may be less attractive, but the creative foreign born people can easily opt to leave, or not to come in the first place. Having talented people not want to live in a country is bad for it.