Overview of Women Fleeing America + Abolish Property Taxes?
Host: Charlie Kirk — Episode covers two main themes: (1) a reaction to a Gallup finding that a high share of younger women say they'd like to leave the U.S., and (2) a debate about proposals to abolish or alter property taxes (triggered by Ron DeSantis’ push in Florida). The episode features guest Libby Emmons (editor-in-chief, The Post Millennial / Human Events) on culture, gender and emigration; Scott Turner (identified as HUD Secretary in the episode) on housing affordability and regulatory reform; plus extended studio discussion between Charlie, Blake and Andrew.
Key topics discussed
- Poll finding: 20% of Americans say they want to live somewhere else; 40% of women ages 15–44 say they want to leave the U.S. (Gallup).
- Cultural explanations for wanting to emigrate: perceived national decline, cultural relativism in education, social media/medicalization of life, political dissatisfaction (TDS).
- Gender dynamics: women’s higher educational attainment, changing family choices (delayed marriage/childbearing), dissatisfaction despite career success.
- Happiness data: married women with children report the highest “very happy” rates; unmarried mothers the lowest.
- Housing affordability crisis: causes, HUD priorities, regulatory cost burden, and building shortfall.
- Property tax debate: proposals to abolish or freeze property taxes (DeSantis/Florida); pros, cons and alternatives (land-value tax, age-based freezes, means-testing, reverse mortgages, Prop 13 effects).
- Fiscal and intergenerational consequences: who benefits and who bears costs; effects on local budgets, incentives and housing supply.
Main arguments & perspectives
On women saying they want to leave America
- Libby Emmons: attributes desire to emigrate to lack of teaching about America’s advantages, cultural relativism in education, and unrealistic expectations formed online. Often the experience of moving abroad (viral stories) shows downsides.
- Charlie/Panel: mix of causes — political dissatisfaction (esp. among liberals), social and medical trends (birth control, SSRIs, fertility treatments), emasculation of men, and a mismatch between career-focused culture and traditional maternal/family fulfillment. They cite data showing married mothers are among the happiest cohorts.
On housing policy and HUD’s response
- Scott Turner: places blame on federal policies (immigration, regulatory burden) for housing shortages; cites ~7 million unit shortfall and specific regulatory cost shares (e.g., ~40% of multifamily development cost attributed to regulations).
- HUD actions mentioned: cut red tape, use FHA/Section 221/223 programs to expand affordable supply, promote manufactured housing and multifamily options as stepping stones to single-family ownership.
- Emphasis on single-family homes as wealth-building and family-friendly; but acknowledges multifamily rentals are often necessary starter steps.
On property taxes (abolish or reform?)
- Pro-abolition argument (as presented by proponents): property taxes can penalize homeowners (esp. seniors with paid-off homes), feel like “rent to government,” and are politically salient.
- Opposing/nuanced arguments (Charlie & panel):
- Property taxes fund local public goods (police, fire, courts, schools); eliminating them shifts burden to other taxes (sales or income), which often fall harder on younger or lower-income people.
- Seniors as a group are already net beneficiaries of many programs (Social Security, Medicare) and hold a disproportionate share of wealth; full abolition risks favoring those who already have most assets.
- Alternatives and mitigations: land-value tax (less distortionary), age-based freezes or caps (e.g., Texas-style protections), means-testing, reverse mortgages or home-equity solutions, and better local budget discipline.
- Policy design matters: absolute abolition is likely to create winners and losers, budget shortfalls for local services, and perverse incentives (reduced housing turnover and reduced economic efficiency).
Notable data points & quotes
- Gallup: 20% of Americans want to live elsewhere; 40% of women 15–44 say they want to leave (the question is hypothetical—doesn’t mean they will actually leave).
- Family Studies / GSS snapshot used in discussion: married women with children — ~40% “very happy”; unmarried mothers — ~17% “very happy”.
- HUD claim: U.S. housing shortage ≈ 7 million units; FHA helped ~630,000 borrowers this year, including many first-time buyers.
- Notable quotes:
- Charlie Kirk: “If you have a generation that does not own stuff… political radicalization starts to seep in.”
- Guest critique: “Abolishing property taxes… gives favoritism to people who already have the most going for them.”
Proposed solutions and policy ideas discussed
- Housing supply:
- Reduce regulatory barriers to construction (local and federal).
- Encourage manufactured housing, duplexes, multifamily where appropriate.
- Use FHA/Section 221/223 financing to expand affordable supply.
- Consider unconventional mortgage ideas (50-year mortgage mentioned in audience feedback).
- Property tax reform options (vs. full abolition):
- Freeze property tax assessments for homeowners above a certain age (e.g., 65), or make freezes means-tested.
- Land-value tax (tax unimproved land value) to discourage speculation and incentivize productive use.
- Reverse mortgages or home-equity drawdowns for fixed-income seniors who need cash.
- Transferable mortgage concepts to reduce lock-in from low fixed-rate loans (raised as an idea, with caveats).
- Improve local government spending discipline instead of shifting tax burdens.
Main takeaways
- The “want to leave” poll among younger women is driven by multiple factors: political polarization, cultural narratives, social media, and real mismatches between expectations and lived outcomes (career vs. family fulfillment).
- Housing affordability is framed as an urgent crisis tied to supply constraints, regulation, immigration pressure (per Turner), and intergenerational fairness. HUD is positioning regulatory rollback and expanded financing as principal remedies.
- Abolishing property taxes is politically appealing to some (especially older homeowners), but presents serious fiscal and distributive trade-offs: loss of local revenue, shifted tax burdens onto younger/working people, incentive distortions, and possible reductions in housing market efficiency.
- Reasoned compromise proposals (age freezes, means-testing, land-value taxes, reverse mortgages) surfaced as more pragmatic than wholesale abolition.
Questions & tensions highlighted
- If property taxes are abolished, how will local governments replace lost revenue without disproportionately taxing younger people?
- How to balance compassion for fixed-income seniors vs. intergenerational fairness and maintaining housing market fluidity?
- Where would those who say they want to leave actually go, and how realistic are those moves given trade-offs in free speech, safety, and services in other countries?
- How to address the cultural and psychiatric factors that influence young women’s life choices and satisfaction (education messaging, medicalization, social media)?
Practical recommendations (from episode discussion)
- For policymakers:
- Prioritize increasing housing supply through regulatory reform and targeted financing programs.
- Avoid blanket abolition of property taxes; instead explore targeted protections (age-based freezes, means-testing) and consider land-value taxation as an alternative.
- Strengthen local spending transparency and pension funding discipline so tax changes aren’t just papered over.
- For individuals:
- Consider housing as long-term wealth-building (single-family ownership where feasible).
- Evaluate home-equity options (reverse mortgages, HELOCs) carefully if on fixed income and facing rising local taxes.
- Assess personal priorities (marriage, family, career) in light of well-being data cited in the show.
Guests and sources mentioned: Libby Emmons (The Post Millennial / Human Events), Scott Turner (HUD), Gallup poll, Atlantic piece on marriage & happiness, General Social Survey family-happiness data, discussion of Prop 13 and UK “triple lock” pension example.
For more context and source links, the show directs listeners to charliekirk.com and the guests’ publications.