Record in 2010 for Calif. Companies Departing or Diverting Capital
In the seven weeks since the last report, another 11 companies have left California completely or re-directed substantial capital to build facilities out of state that in an earlier era would have been built here. The number in today’s list is lower than the usual four-per-week average and I believe it’s because companies shy away from making such announcements during the end-of-year holiday season.
The names of the companies and justifications for listing them appear in the list below, which builds upon the Dec. 6, 2010 entry regarding 193 companies here (which in turn builds on previous lists).
In brief:
Company total for 12 months of 2010: 204
Company total for all of 2009: 51
As More Businesses Flee California, Schwarzenegger Deserves ‘Worst Governor’ Award
Yesterday, while attending the delightful little musical "Daddy Long Legs" at the Laguna Beach Playhouse, none other than Arnold Schwarzenegger popped into my mind. Why? Well, the song, "I Couldn’t Know Someone Less" reminded me of him. When he became governor he showed promise that he would reform our dysfunctional state government. But he turned out to be an abject failure.
Someone has to say it, so I will: Arnold Schwarzenegger is the worst governor in California’s recent history. If we were doing articles of impeachment, then "injuring virtually every industry" would be one of many charges.
He deserves that distinction for many reasons, but the tipping point for me came last week during the appearance by Aaron McLear, Schwarzenegger’s press secretary, on Fox Business News. While speaking on "Varney & Co," he misrepresented California’s economic condition by saying that when it comes to companies leaving the state, well, he "doesn’t see evidence of that"; and by gosh the state’s "private sector is doing great"; and that our tax rate is about the same as in other states. When asked about unemployment, he said, "Well, unemployment is bad everywhere." Does the governor know that last week so many jobless people called the Employment Development Department that their phones crashed?
New GOP Governors Eye CA Business
Cross-posted at CalWatchdog.
The poaching of good California jobs and businesses has just begun. The new crop of GOP governors just elected across the fruited plain is looking to grab what they can from the anti-business Pyrite State. Jim Christie of Reuters reports:
“It’s a testament to California’s voters that they had the foresight to beat back the tidal wave of corporate-controlled candidates that swept much of the rest of the country,” said California Labor Federation head Art Pulaski.
But according to Somer Hollingsworth of the Nevada Development Authority, that makes California “even more fair game.”
Texas in particular has been busy scouring California for companies tired of high taxes and unpredictable regulations, and analysts see the Lone Star State as a lodestar for new GOP-led states eager to spur business.
Fueling An Agenda
In a deranged attempt to be the first state (again) to push an aggressive environmental agenda, California Air Resources Board officials grossly inflated pollution levels in air quality statistics by more than 340 percent in order to justify the agency’s radical environmental mandates and regulations.
Heads should roll, or at the very least, a public flogging should take place on the west steps of the Capitol. One state legislator wants to hold the Chairwoman of the California Air Resources Board
Searching for the One-Handed Economist
As Carla Marinucci reports in the San Francisco Chronicle, a debate has flared among economists on the effects of Meg Whitman’s plan to revive the California economy. A liberal think tank produced a document written by liberal professors calling Whitman’s plan flawed. A conservative economist responded that the plan would jump start the economy.
This back and forth of different economic views reminds me of the famous quote by President Harry Truman who wanted to consult with a one-armed economist. The president was tired of economists advising him, "On the one hand this could happen… On the other hand that …."
The report by UC Berkeley economist Michael Reich that started the brouhaha argued that Whitman’s plan to cut capitol gains taxes would deprive the state of billions of dollars in revenue. In addition, Reich claimed that California is not the unfriendly business climate that Whitman talks about.
Jerry Brown’s Potential Crippling Blow to California
California is facing nearly The Toughest of Times.
We face historically high unemployment, perennial budget crises and
more. Don’t think it could get any worse? Think again. If Jerry
Brown is elected, in one short stroke, he could deal a potentially
crippling blow to the California economy before it gets a chance to get
back on its feet.
Even for a
committed political observer, volunteer and commentator such as myself,
it seems implausible – but true – that the stakes for elections grow
with each successive election. For
California, the 2010 gubernatorial election unquestionably could be the
most important election ever – and not necessarily for a good reason.
If Jerry Brown is elected, he and his fellow Democrats could deliver a
devastating blow to California.
We well know that California’s unemployment rate is above 12%. We
also know that well over 100,000 people are leaving California on a
yearly basis. Beyond that, California faces an exodus of businesses –
large and small alike. So it can be no surprise that state revenues
have declined nearly $40 billion over the last three years as a result
of the declining taxpayer base.
The Pork Express
Note: This post was co-authored with Tom Schatz, President of Citizens Against Government Waste
For six years in a row, Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) and
the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Foundation (HJTF) have published the
California Piglet Book to spotlight waste, fraud and abuse of
taxpayers’ dollars. Modeled after the Pig Book, an annual analysis
of Federal spending conducted by CAGW, we have found the state
Piglet an excellent method of embarrassing California officials into
better performance and a higher respect for the public’s money.
In a target rich environment, this year we have chosen to focus our
attention on the misuse of public transportation dollars.