At my neigborhood Fourth of July block party yesterday (in Fairfax County, Virginia), a 40-year resident gave a going-away speech to the crowd. She and her husband were sick and tired of the high state and local taxes in Fairfax and had looked into alternate warm states that had more pocketbook-friendly tax regimes. They settled on a small town in North Carolina. Interestingly, she appeared to be a hard-core Democrat.

Expect to hear lots more about comparative state tax rates as tens of millions of baby boomers begin retiring in coming years.