You have to give Governor Perry some credit – when he sees an opportunity to poach businesses in California, he dives in head first. And why not? Texas is ranked number one in nearly every business survey, while California is usually last or close to it.
This is a Governor who even sent one California CEO a cellphone with a single number programmed in it. And while that phone number was not 911, it was certainly a number to be used when California’s legal and regulatory climate created an emergency need for a quick escape to Texas.
Governor Perry’s latest attempt at trying to sway California businesses to come to Texas should not be taken lightly. Instead of blowing it off and calling the ad “Barely a fart,” our governor and all elected officials and regulators should be paying attention. The website of the organization behind the ad cites numerous reasons why businesses should come to Texas and one of those is a fair legal system.
This group is far from the first one to call attention to this fact. The American Tort Reform Association and business leaders have long identified California’s unbalanced legal climate as one of the reasons our state is not creating enough jobs. The California Business Roundtable recently released its new business climate survey, which found that 69% of large and small business leaders across the state believe it is getting harder to do business in California.
Gov. Perry’s latest effort to convince businesses to move to California should serve as a kick in the pants for our elected leaders. They need to start listening to the people who decide where to operate businesses – and make decisions about where to hire – and take steps such as passing legal reforms to make California a more attractive place to do business. It is well-established that these reforms help create jobs.
The big question is whether California’s governor and legislature will rise to the occasion.