I do like how you try to insult me by pretending that paying someone to do my taxes means I am not intelligent. Sometimes, we pay other people to do stuff we don't want to do because we have better things (like posting in forums) to do with our time. I don't change my oil either. I will leave that for you to process.
However, I do my own taxes. Assisted usually with Turbotax. I have found preparers and CPAs that I have used either too shady (aggressive on the deductions) or not creative enough. And yes, I take advantage of all the breaks I am allowed. My point is that just because I pay a lot of taxes does not mean I do not take my deductions fully. I don;t get to use all the loopholes like the 1% but I get by.
So back to the part where you are either drunk or stupid. You stated that there is some magical incentive to live in a HCOL state (not necessarily indicating you are either drunk or stupid) . Vic pointed out that it's the LCOL states who get the benefits of taxes paid by HCOL residents. Then you said this wasn't about where taxes go (which would indicate some incentives I think). This is the part where you are either cross posting, drunk, or stupid. So, if you are sober enough, perhaps you can explain what these benefits are that I must be missing while doing my taxes. Since I am not "in the tax biz", I must be missing some awesome loophole or something.