Birds of Greed Flocking to Florida’s Tax-Free Nests

Oh, gosh, there goes another one – another billionaire “flighty bird,” angrily flitting away from the home nest that long nurtured him. This latest one is Howard Schultz, the high-flying avaricious avian who tucked away a multibillion-dollar personal fortune as the monopolistic, exploitative CEO of the Starbucks coffee chain. Howard has recently fallen into a deep pout over the downright rudeness he says he’s received from officials in his home base of Washington State. What’s his gripe? Haven’t you heard, he squawks, the state legislature intends to make rich corporatists like me start paying income taxes! Indeed, Washington is one of only nine states with no income tax, even on billionaires. Instead, to fund public needs, it relies on regressive sales taxes paid by poor and middle-income consumers. So, in an overdue stand for fairness and the Common Good, the state is levying a minimal tax on those few elites who haul in more than a million bucks a year – with the money going to such crucial public needs as child care. But damn the need, Billionaire Schultz is foot-stomping furious that he would have to pay his fair share for the upkeep of the state that has helped him thrive. So, Howard has taken flight, winging clear across the country to Florida, where the right-wing governor and legislature shields the rich from pesky taxes. Proving that “Birds of a feather flock together,” the aristocratic chieftains of such other corporate fiefdoms as Amazon, Meta, and Google are also now nesting in Florida’s tax-evasion enclaves. When billionaires declare “We’re all in this together” – they don’t mean you me – only themselves and their tax lawyers. Jim Hightower's Lowdown is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimhightower.substack.com/

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Birds of Greed Flocking to Florida’s Tax-Free Nests is an episode from Jim Hightower's Radio Lowdown by Jim Hightower.

This episode is 2:10 long.

This episode was published on Mar 26, 2026.

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