True, there are some billionaires in FL and TX, but there are, according to Forbes, 303 between CA and NY (189/114) while FL and TX have 118 (60/58). Also, there is the question of origin of weealth. A lot of FL folks made their $$ in NY and them moved to FL. As for escaping state income tax (something out of context to our original conversation) it is worth noting that both FL and TX get by pretty well without it, while CA and NY are both at the top of the stte tax list.

To answer the question as to why places like Mississippi are so poor demands a long walk through history. Post Civil war reconstruction never really toke hold. After their agricultural / textile businesses perished in the early 1900's they were left behind, in more ways than one.

The last Democrat to win MIsdsissippi was Jimmy Carter in 1976, but from 1828 to 1960 they were solidly Democrat with the exception of jsut one Republican, US Grant, winning only in 1872; post Civil War. That same voting pattern is seen in much of Southern history.