Americas once-iconic industrial hub is primed for an economic comeback as major metropolitan areas continue to bleed residents to lower-tax states, a prominent Michigan developer told Fox News Digital.
Rodney Lockwood, Board Chairman of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, warned that high-tax cities like New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco are facing serious structural trouble.
“I think we have to look at both sides: what is not working, and then what will work,” Lockwood said. “Right now, socialists are on the march, and Zohran Mamdani in New York is perhaps the best example of that. They’re winning races, and their answer is always the same: more taxes and more free stuff.”
Lockwoods comments come as progressive-led cities nationwideâincluding New York, Chicago, Boston, and Los Angelesâstruggle with taxpayer flight driven by high state and local taxes, lingering crime concerns, and an astronomical cost of living. A new study by the National Taxpayers Union Foundation (NTUF), released April 7, 2026, confirmed that taxpayers are fleeing high-tax environments for more fiscally friendly states.Â
While Texas and Florida remain the top targets, states like North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee are also seeing record gains. Notably, the NTUF “Migration in Minutes” metric found that Texas surpassed Florida in 2022 as the state gaining a new taxpayer most frequently â one every 4 minutes and 40 seconds.
“I sort of see it as a case of suicidal envy,” Lockwood explained. “Belle Isle would be on the opposite side of that equation. We would have a taxation system aligned with the best of human characteristics. If you want people to work for the income and dignity of it, don’t tax workâso thered be no local income tax. If we want people to come, invest, and produce the tools of productivity, don’t tax investments.”
AMERICA’S TOP DESTINATION FOR NEW TAXPAYERS IS QUIETLY GETTING POORER, IRS DATA REVEALS
Lockwood is championing a proposal to transform Detroits Belle Isle into a self-governing “Freedom City” aimed at setting a new blueprint for urban revival nationwide.
First developed as a public park in the late 19th century, Belle Isle spans 982 acres in the Detroit Riverâmaking it roughly 140 acres larger than New York Citys Central Park. While the city owns the land, it is currently leased to the State of Michigan and operated as a state park under a 30-year agreement signed in 2013.
DAVID MARCUS: IN BOOMING DETROIT, VOTERS SKEPTICAL OF SOCIALISM SNAKE OIL
Under Lockwoods proposal, private investors would purchase or lease the island from Detroit
