I was accidentally listening to Hannity on the radio because I am too nice of a person and did not tell the person to switch to something a little less hate mongering. In the midst of his promoting some work-at-home scam, and other commercials telling people they can they money for nothing by buying oil wells and some ill-defined investments, not to mention advertising his TV show which evidently is going to be railing against the chicks, and dudes for free, at spring break, there was a conservation with Rick Scott. In this conservation, in which Scott tells Hannity how wonderful Florida is, we learn that dispite the fact that Hannity has made a promise to leave New York, he will not, at least not until 2017. Why? Because his son is in high school, and he does not want to move him.
In addition, he said he might not go to Florida because they don't allow off shore drilling.
To save other from doing the math, the 2017 graduation date implies that the son is a freshman in high school. Now admittedly once a kid is high school it is best to leave them there. On the other hand, if New York has become such a horrible place, and the tax burden is going to be burden son, I don't see who a kid in high school is a real impediment. Lots of kid change school in tenth grade, for many reasons. I would even say it can be a good thing, as all kids tend to do unfortunate things in High School, and starting fresh in tenth grade at a new school can erase that trauma. So no, I do not believe for a minute that his staying in New York has anything to do with his kid being starting High School. Rather, it has to do with his kid being in school.
ALEC, conservatives favorite organization, Ranks New York in the top 20% for education. Texas and Florida are just below. US News ranks New York schools in the 10%, Florida in the top 20%. Texas is the top 25%. Coincidentally New York is ranked #1 in terms of 'tax burden' by CNN Money, while Texas is the bottom 20% and Florida just misses the bottom 10%.
What does this say about Hannity? That, like so many conservatives, he loves the services* he receives, but hates taxes. This is fair, but if were actually a guy who believes in his values he would move to Texas or Florida. Sure he might have to pay more for a private school. The best education in Texas, for instance, is about $30,000 a year. It may or may not be better than what is available in New York. The thing is, that by staying in New York he is a taker. By moving elsewhere, and paying the school fees, he would be exemplifying his principles. That small governement is best, and the individual should be responsible for their own affairs.
* Some might argue that if one goes to private school, or a special public school where a 'higher' standard is held, the general ranking of school, and if one can pay one can just buy a better education. To some extent this is true. I would argue, however, that if more money is spent on better public schools, then the private schools have to be better as well. The exception, of course, are those schools that exist primarily to segregate by race. If that is a concern, Florida might be an option as it is comparable to New York state in terms of population, but Texas with a minority white non-Hispanic population might not be. However both states have a significant wealthy minority population, so many can afford even the most exclusive private schools, and it is getting harder to keep the undesirables out.