As New York drifts with tax-heavy promises and anti-business rhetoric, financial powerhouses are voting with their feet—and their headquarters—choosing Texas as the nation’s next financial command post.
Even though the New York City mayoral debates are underway, they will unlikely change the outcome of the November election. Candidate Zohran Mamdani continues to hold a commanding lead of over former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and GOP nominee Curtis Silwa by more than 20 points.
When the 34-year-old Mamdani enters Gracie Mansion, he has promised to deliver a laundry list of costly promises that includes free bus transportation, city-owned grocery stores, and grossly expanded city services. It will cost billions that New York does not have.
To pay for his utopian vision, Mamdani intends to sacrifice the city’s golden goose, its financial services sector, on the altar of socialism.
No matter how well his plans are packaged on social media, Mamdani’s popular but destructive tax policies will only exacerbate New York City’s fiscal decline.
New York has increasingly made targets of businesses and the industry that once made it a global economic beacon and bastion of capitalism. Many of the city’s major job and revenue producers—those that actually pay for the city’s social infrastructure—are escaping the additional financial persecution that is sure to come.
Democrat Governor Ned Lamont in adjacent Connecticut recently expressed concerns that Mamdani’s approach could have cascading economic consequences for the region that will threaten New York’s status as the financial capital of America.
Icons of the financial services industry have options, and they are exercising them. Texas is the principal beneficiary.
The New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq have opened operations in the Lone Star State, while, on September 30, the Texas Stock Exchange received approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission to operate and will begin trading next year.
“This is another step that expands our financial might in the United States and cements our economic power on the global stage,” Texas Governor Greg Abbott said following the TXSE announcement.
Plentiful jobs, a low cost of living, common-sense tax structure, and business-friendly climate combine to make Texas the eighth largest economy on the planet and an attractive draw for companies and their people.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. now employs more workers in Texas than in New York. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs is in the process of building a $500 million campus in Dallas to house 5,000 more personnel. Even Canadian-based Scotia Bank is moving 1,000 people to Dallas.
All of this follows Charles Schwab’s move from California to Texas in 2021. The Schwab campus in Westlake is larger than thirty-five New York City blocks.
The diverse Texas banking sector with nearly $1 trillion in assets is growing rapidly as these large institutions join the most vibrant community and mid-size banks in America. Together, they are bolstering local economies and small businesses while simultaneously fueling powerhouse sectors to include energy, technology, manufacturing, and agriculture.
The bottom line is that America will continue to be the home of the world’s financial capital. It has just left New York and is moving to Texas.
Davy Crockett is credited with saying, “You may all go to hell, and I will go to Texas.” It is a message that major players in the financial services industry, and the greater business community, are sending to Mr. Mamdani and tone-deaf leaders in New York and other states.
The message from Texas? Opportunity and growth now reside on “Y’all Street.” Come on down!