Our founders saw our various states as places to experiment with governance.  Each can test ideas to see what works and what doesn’t.  Citizens can provide feedback by migrating to those places where things work the best.

I doubt that our founders expected an experiment to see if a communist state can coexist in a capitalist country.  But New York has decided to conduct that experiment, seizing the means of production via lawsuits.

During her campaign, New York attorney general Letitia James made the Lavrentiy Beria pledge to find a crime and “get Donald Trump.”  It turns out she’s a woman of her word.

James used a 1956 law (Section 63[12] of New York’s Executive Law) to sue Donald Trump.  The law was created to enable the state to sue companies for profiting from fraudulent business practices.  Until now, it has never been used where there are no damages (i.e., nobody was hurt).  But as we know, legal traditions are expendable if they get in the way of a leftist’s objectives.

Attorney General James found a friendly judge, Arthur Engoron, to oversee the case.  He somehow didn’t understand that his job isn’t to stick it to “the man,” but to make sure “the man” gets a fair hearing.

James argued that Trump had engaged in a pattern of fraud by describing his business assets in the most positive light when applying for business loans.  She further argued that it was immaterial that the loans were repaid, and the so-called victims of the fraud (the banks) testified on Trump’s behalf that they had not been harmed.

The judge, being the savvy real estate speculator that he is, did his own appraisal of Trump’s assets, decided that James was correct, and ruled that disgorgement was the appropriate remedy.  He ordered that the state of New York seize all profits which resulted from the loans — plus 9% interest.

Judge Engoron’s order penalized Trump to the tune of $464.5 million and prohibited Trump and his sons from doing business in New York for three years.  He also ordered that the full amount of the fine be placed in trust before the filing of any appeal.

Letitia James ran to the microphones and triumphantly announced that if Trump didn’t pay up immediately, she would start seizing his assets.  Karl Marx would be proud.  Although Donald Trump is a multi-billionaire, his net worth isn’t in the form of gold bars hidden in his closet — that’s a Senator Menendez savings plan.  Trump’s assets are in the form of the businesses he owns.  Seizing assets (whether capital or real estate) is seizing the means of production.

Businessmen invest operating capital in anticipation of a future return.  They buy supplies, build facilities, pay taxes, and make payroll, gambling that sales will provide a profit — in the future.  Judge Engoron’s order has authorized A.G. James to seize a half a billion bucks of Trump’s operating capital, with apparently no understanding of its impact on the people of New York.  Not only will half a billion dollars be taken out of the state’s economy immediately, but the future earning potential of that half a billion will also be taken out of the economy.  Such unintended consequences are actually the avoidable outcomes of foolish decisions.

New York has been in the business of turning its back on business for decades, but the Trump verdict is a dangerous escalation of the state’s war on capitalism.  Businesses are responding.  Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary announced that he will no longer make business investments in New York, telling Cavuto on Coast to Coast,

New York was already a loser state like California is a loser state. There are many loser states because of policy, high taxes on competitive regulation. I would never invest in New York now [after the Engoron decision]. And I'm not the only person saying that.

Grant Cardone of Cardone Capital is walking away from investments in New York.  As he told Fox & Friends,

We thought this year was the opportunity to come into Chicago, California, and New York City. I've been waiting for 40 years now to invest in that marketplace. I was completely confident this was the year to come. And when that ruling happened, it was like, pencils down. Don't touch it. Don't go there.

Just after the Engoron ruling, Remington Arms announced that it was shuttering its 200-year-old factory in Ilion, N.Y., to move to the more business-friendly Georgia.  Remington executives understand that facilitating 2nd Amendment rights has made their company a target of New York gun-grabbers.  Left unsaid is that the risks of staying skyrocketed with the Trump verdict.

Is the souring of the business mood in New York a serious problem?  Apparently, it’s serious enough for Governor Hochul to go on WABC 770 AM to reassure the business community, saying,

I think that this is really an extraordinary, unusual circumstance that the law-abiding and rule-following New Yorkers who are business people have nothing to worry about, because they’re very different than Donald Trump and his behavior.

In other words, Donald Trump is a special case, because he’s Donald Trump.  But after her predecessor (Andrew Cuomo) said that conservatives aren’t welcome in New York, her entreaty to trust me, we’ll be fair next time was not particularly convincing.  Business owners know that they need to think seriously about a crusading attorney general looking for a political scalp as a campaign prop before investing anywhere within her reach.

It didn’t take long for Letitia James to issue her rebuttal to the governor’s reassurances.  A mere two weeks after Hochul said law-abiding businesses had nothing to fear, James announced that she’s using the same law she used against Trump to sue JBS Foods, the world’s largest producer of beef products.

It seems JBS ran afoul of James by announcing plans to increase production, thereby also increasing employment and revenue to the state.  But JBS made the grave mistake of boasting about its sustainability measures in company literature.  Since raising cattle is inherently bad for the environment — according to St. Greta of Sweden — any plan to increase production is bad for the planet.  Therefore, according to James, JBS’s claims of being environmentally conscientious are fraudulent and justify the seizing of its profits.

Perhaps Governor Hochul can go on the radio again and say, My bad.  We’ll seize the assets of only Donald Trump, facilitators of mass shootings, and climate criminals.  Everybody else is safe.  Cross my heart.

As businesses flee New York, will the standard of living in the state improve or decline?  As the business climate deteriorates, will the appetite for the state taking of assets increase or be sated?  As property and capital are diverted to government consumption rather than wealth generation, what will New York look like in 50 years?

Maybe we should build a wall around New York — not as a penal colony, but as a museum piece.  It could be an interactive experience illustrating the end state when governments seize the means of production.  Civics and history students could take field trips there.

John Green is a political refugee from Minnesota, now residing in Idaho.  He is a staff writer for the American Free News Network and can be reached at greenjeg@gmail.com.

Image via Picryl.