Businesses Flee California!!

In the 1990s, Colorado found itself awash in Californians. It was like a flood and it did as much damage. In fact, we still haven’t recovered. What sent these people East was the horrible business climate California had created, which drove businesses from the state. Well, things have only gotten worse and now some of the hardest-core hard-core liberal companies are fleeing. . . tech companies.

California has been ranked by Chief Executive magazine as the worst place to do business for seven years running. High taxes, insane regulations, aggressive regulators, and a failed “government” which couldn’t run a hot dog stand have contributed to what Chief Executive magazine describes thusly: “California, once a business friendly state, continues to conduct a war on its own economy.”

Says one relocation expert: “There is a feeling that the state is not stable. Sacramento can't get its act together and that includes the governor, legislators and regulatory agencies that are running wild.” So California gangs invented “wilding” and California regulators brought it into government.

As a result, companies are fleeing California at a rate five times greater than just two years ago. According to relocation specialists, the top states California companies choose are Texas, Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Utah, Virginia and North Carolina. Utah, which actively sends representatives to poach California companies, touts stable government, balanced budgets, a AAA debt rating, lower taxes, lower real estate costs, lower utility costs, lower living expenses and all around better quality of life. Arizona’s Commerce Authority is pushing its lower workers compensation and unemployment taxes and offers incentive packages to relocate.

Even those who aren’t leaving the state entirely are choosing to establish new division or facilities elsewhere rather than expand in California. PayPal just opened a new 2,000-job facility in Arizona. eBay sent 1,000 jobs to Texas and is expanding in Utah. Electronic Arts and Adobe are both expanding in Utah. Feel Golf, owner of Pro Line Sports, is moving entirely to Florida.

Said one CEO about California: “The whole state is a bureaucratic Santa Claus.”

BUT wait. . . . California isn’t going down without a fight. No, no, no. Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsome is developing a plan. First, he intends to sit down with executives to hear their complaints. . . because he really has NO IDEA what could possibly be upsetting them. Then he’s going to study “the best practices of other states” to see how they taxed and regulated themselves to prosperity. He’s already visited Texas. Then he’s going to focus on the state’s “premier industries,” which he identifies as biotechnology, agriculture and digital media -- the rest of you can pound sand. Finally, he will “highlight the state’s strengths in innovation and research.”

Allow me to translate. Gavin Newsom doesn’t have a clue how business works but he needs to look like he cares. Forming a fact finding commission is a great way to waste time while appearing diligent. So he will meet with top contributors and fly to other states on junkets disguised as “fact finding missions,” where he will hear what he wants to hear. . . which is that the Democratic "tax, regulate and spend like the criminally insane" policy is the only way to bring prosperity. Then he will lecture the evil business community about how great California is and demand they swear allegiance to California. Finally, he’ll get some more money for “innovation” in the budget. Problem solved. California will bloom!

Yes, good things are coming to California. . . just you wait.