Report rips California's business climate. 40 percent of firms plan to move some jobs out.

Sacramento Bee ^ | February 27, 2004 | Clint Swett

[John Jorsett]

A reference to "out-stating" and "third world states like Nevada and Arizona" and you thought I was being serious? If our senses of humor are that different, then you'll just have to take my word for it.

By the way, I'm more-or-less in your camp on the reasons for outsourcing. I guess you'll have to take my word for that too.

[RightField]

Well, we're moving out of the Peoples Republic of Kalifornia in 2005 .... I can't wait.

good riddance!

[John Jorsett]

Hey John, we don't want those Californians in Nevada.

Too bad, we're fleeing economic oppression, so we're coming anyway. We're the Haitian Boat People of the U.S. Only without the boats. Or Haiti.

Sanctuary!

[swampfox98]

My heart bleeds for the conservatives in California. They don't deserve all this crap coming down on them. The illegals have taken over, and the liberals rule the day. It is only logical then that this kind of hell follows.

[BooBoo1000]

O.K If you are bound and determined to move to Nevada, please consider Virginia City or Reno as a possible landing site.

[SAJ]

Was just thinking that CA is well on the way to looking like the latter half of an Ayn Rand novel.

I've no idea if Atlas will shrug, but I 'll give you 5-to-15 on that he'll get the hell out of Dodge.

:^)

[EEDUDE]

"The illegals have taken over, and the liberals rule the day. It is only logical then that this kind of hell follows."

Yeah. It's going to be an interesting case study in how liberalism destroyed a state.

If you want to see another result of over taxation and regulation, go to upstate New York.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

O.K If you are bound and determined to move to Nevada, please consider Virginia City or Reno as a possible landing site.

Do you get snow there? LOL!

I am thinking more about Tucson!

[taxcontrol]

Thank you Kalifornia! Us folks here in Colorado are LOVING the jobs!!!

[forester]

Because the big players love it this way. They can use regulations to kill their competition, buy the assets on the cheap, and raise prices.

Yep, we've come full circle to the 1890's when politicians were owned by the railroads. Special interests and corruption in high places...sad but true

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

My email to the writer of the article:

Mr. Swett,

I thought your article was very interesting. Thank you for writing it.

However, I couldn't help but notice that you contrasted the California Business Roundtable report with comments from "economists," one of whom you quoted (Stephen Levy, director at the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy in Palo Alto). I did not understand your comment about the report not mentioning "cutting funding for higher education" and not "cutting transportation funding," factors economists said were "critical to business growth in California."

I have read many comments from small business owners in California (the owner of Hungry Howie's in Clovis, California for one), and my brother-in-law, in addition to the CBR's report. I myself was once the owner of a lumberyard in Illinois. I have also been involved with business planning for a number of companies. I have to tell you that public policy issues such as public transportation and higher education are almost never factors in how a business is going to survive and what to do to minimize costs to the business itself. Concerns are almost always: lowering payroll costs; reducing waste; seeking new sales opportunities; reducing taxes and regulatory costs; and finding information in the financial reports that indicates money leakage (theft, damage, spoilage, etc.).

Arizona, where I live, has only three public universities, an average number of community colleges, and no major private universities. Public transportation is minimal. Yet our economy is growing faster than any other state except Nevada, which is also growing rapidly even though it has a similar situation to Arizona's. How would Mr. Levy explain this? Did you ask him, in order to challenge his assumptions?

I guess I saw the comments about "cutting funding for higher education" and "cutting transportation funding" as a non sequitur. I've never seen these factors listed in the SBA's business plan template. What does one have to do with the other? How do these factors relate to a business's balance sheet or a company's business plan? I didn't think your article made the economist's case for me, and I'm not sure any business owners would see the connection, either. It made the economist look like an ostrich with his head in the sand, hanging on to his old prejudices about higher taxes being needed... again.

Far more germaine to the point are the factors mentioned by the California Business Roundtable. It seems to me if you strangle existing small businesses with onerous regulations, high taxes and exhorbitant workman's compensation fees, it reduces the ability of the state's economy to recover. This is what the business people are saying. I hope someone has the sense to listen to them.

I also hope California recovers from its recession someday, but I am not optimistic it will, if economists like Mr. Levy continue to look at irrelevant factors and yet have the ear of the state legislature. Someone needs to listen to the business owners, who actually employ people and produce the income that is the backbone of the economy, to learn where the real problems are.

[BJungNan]

Your letter was very well put. I talked to the reporter and he seemed to be the receptive type. I brought up some of the same comments but not as well has you have in your letter. I bet he will take note of what you have said.

Of course, on the first go around he should have asked the "economist" how higher education spending and more money for transportation is going to help keep business in California. California already has a top rate transportation system (alright, its clogged in LA but that is only a small part).

Anyhow, good letter. Thanks for sharing it.

[demkicker]

The illegals have taken over, and the liberals rule the day. It is only logical then that this kind of hell follows." Yeah. It's going to be an interesting case study in how liberalism destroyed a state. If you want to see another result of over taxation and regulation, go to upstate New York.

But don't forget, come November, it's all George Bushes fault.