Posted on 12/12/2012 9:37:46 PM PST by blam
55 Reasons Why California Is The Worst State In America
By Michael Snyder
December 12th, 2012
Why in the world would anyone want to live in the state of California at this point? The entire state is rapidly becoming a bright, shining example of everything that is wrong with America. It is so sad to watch our most populated state implode right in front of our eyes. Like millions of Americans, I was quite enamored with the state of California when I was younger. The warm weather, the beaches, the great natural beauty of the state and the mystique of Hollywood all really appealed to me. At one point I even thought that I wanted to move there. But today, hordes of Californians are racing to get out of the state because it has become a total nightmare.
It is the worst state in the country in which to do business, taxes were just raised even higher, unemployment is more than 20 percent higher than the national average and the state government is drowning in debt. Meanwhile, poverty, gang activity and crime just seem to get worse with each passing year. On top of everything else, the insane politicians in Sacramento just keep on passing more laws that make the problems that the state is facing even worse. Unfortunately, what is happening in California may be a preview of what is coming to the entire nation. The old adage, "as California goes, so goes the nation", has been proven to be true way too many times.
In dozens of different ways, the state of California is showing the rest of us what not to do. Will we learn from their mistakes, or will we follow them into oblivion? Please share the list below with as many people as you can. In addition to a large amount of new research, this list also pulled heavily from one of my previous articles and from outstanding research done by Richard Rider. The following are 55 reasons why California is the worst state in America...
1. One survey of business executives has ranked California as the worst state in America to do business for 8 years in a row.
2. In 2011, the state of California ranked 50th out of all 50 states in new business creation.
3. According to one recent study, California is the worst-governed state in the entire country.
4. Thanks to Proposition 30, California now boasts the highest state income tax rate in the nation.
5. Even though California just raised taxes dramatically on the wealthy, state revenues are falling like a rock. State revenue for November 2012 was 10.8 percent below projections.
6. California has the highest sales tax rate in the United States.
7. California has the 8th highest corporate income tax rate in the country.
8. California has the highest "minimum corporate tax" in the country. Each corporation must pay at least $800 to the state even if a corporation does not make a single dollar of profit.
9. California is tied with New York for the highest gasoline tax rate in the country.
10. California is the only state in America that taxes carbon emissions.
11. The state of California issues some of the most expensive traffic tickets in the nation. This is another form of taxation.
12. As of October, only Nevada and Rhode Island had higher unemployment rates than California.
13. The unemployment rate in California is more than 20 percent higher than the overall unemployment rate for the rest of the nation.
14. The state of California requires licenses for 177 different occupations (the most in the nation). The national average is only 92.
15. California teachers are the highest paid in the nation, but California students rank 48th in math and 49th in reading.
16. California accounts for 12 percent of the U.S. population, but a whopping 33 percent of Americans that receive TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) live there.
17. Only the state of Illinois has a lower bond rating than the state of California does.
18. Including unfunded pension liabilities, the state of California has more than twice as much debt as any other state does.
19. Average pay for California state workers has risen by more than 100 percent since 2005. That is good news for those state employees, but it is bad news for the taxpayers that have to pay their salaries.
20. More than 5,000 California state troopers made more than $100,000 last year.
21. One highway patrol officer ended up bringing home almost $484,000 in 2011.
22. One state psychiatrist in California was paid $822,000 in 2011.
23. Since 2007, the number of children living in poverty in the state of California has increased by 30 percent.
24. Sadly, an astounding 60 percent of all students attending California public schools now qualify for free or reduced-price school lunches.
25. The American Tort Reform Association has ranked the state of California as the worst "judicial hellhole" in America.
26. Businesses all over the state of California are being absolutely suffocated to death by ridiculous regulations.
27. According to the Milken Institute, operating costs for California businesses are 23 percent higher than the national average.
28. According to CNN, the state of California had the worst "small business failure rate" in America in 2010. It was 69 percent higher than the national average.
29. The number of people unemployed in the state of California is roughly equivalent to the populations of Nevada, New Hampshire and Vermont combined.
30. Residential customers in California pay about 29 percent more for electricity than the national average.
31. So many poor people and illegal aliens have taken advantage of the "free" healthcare at emergency rooms that many of them have been forced to shut down in California. As a result, the state of California now ranks dead last out of all 50 states in the number of emergency rooms per million people.
32. Political correctness is totally out of control in California.
33. One California town is actually considering making it illegal to smoke in your own backyard.
34. The traffic around the big cities is horrific.
35. Los Angeles
36. San Francisco
37. Oakland
38. Stockton
39. Sacramento
40. The rampant gang activity in the state gets even worse with each passing year.
41. Crime continues to rise all over the state.
42. Just recently, the city attorney of San Bernardino, California told citizens to "lock their doors and load their guns" because there is not enough money to pay for adequate police protection any longer.
43. The murder rate in San Bernardino is up 50 percent this year.
44. In Oakland, burglaries are up 43 percent so far this year.
45. Today, Oakland is considered the 5th most violent city in the United States.
46. There have been more than 250 gold chain robberies in Stockton, California just since the month of April.
47. In Stockton, the police budget cuts got so bad that the police union put up a billboard at one point with the following message: "Welcome to the 2nd most dangerous city in California. Stop laying off cops."
48. Jerry Brown.
49. The absolutely insane California state legislature.
50. Wildfires.
51. Mudslides.
52. The state of California lies directly along the infamous "Ring of Fire". Approximately 90 percent of all the earthquakes in the entire world happen along the Ring of Fire and the "Big One" could hit the state at any moment.
53. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, approximately 100,000 more people moved out of the state of California in 2011 than moved into it.
54. During 2011, more than 58,000 people moved from California to the state of Texas.
55. Overall, the state of California has experienced a net loss of about four million residents to other states over the past 20 years.
Even if George Strait has never sung a song about it.
“Well it’s absolutely beautiful where I live and the food is wonderful. Oh and Darrell Issa is my representative. I can’t really help it if the rest of the state is bonkers.”
Ditto for me and I live in the East Bay in Northern California. I always marvel at these posts. They are usually from people who don’t live here. I really think it’s “penis envy.” Because as bad as everything is here politically, it’s still the best place in the world to live. Today, it’s sunny with the temperature in the high 60’s. So how does that compare with you folks down in Swollen Groin, Texas? Or the Midwest? Do you have the headbolt heaters in your cars plugged in? Got any broken pipes yet?
I was born less than a mile from the beach in Monterey, California, and lived in my home state for over half a century. In late 2005, I packed up the wife, the kids, our business, and everything we owned, and moved to Texas.
It was the best move I ever made, and I haven't missed California a single day since I've been gone. The California I once loved has been gone for decades. I was homesick for that, long before I left.
“I was born less than a mile from the beach in Monterey, California, and lived in my home state for over half a century. In late 2005, I packed up the wife, the kids, our business, and everything we owned, and moved to Texas.”
Too bad you decided that the move was necessary. I will pay your respects to the Carmel Beach next week when we spend a few days at our second home there. It’s still a wonderfull place in spite of the RATs that run the place. The sadest thing about Monterey County is that it’s the home of Marxist Leon Panetta. Always think about relieving myself when we drive by his “ranch” in Carmel Valley.
My grandson is about to graduate with a degree in software engineering and he’s talking to a company in Silicon Valley. This grandmother is not real happy about her grandson moving there. I have a really bad image in my mind of the area and if the state of CA is going to end up taking away from him what Obama misses.
“My grandson is about to graduate with a degree in software engineering and he’s talking to a company in Silicon Valley. “
I spent half of my working career in the Silicon Valley. There, it isn’t the politics that drive anything, it’s stock price. The whole place is driven by a boom and bust cycle in the chip-making business. The large customers are all Asian and they make business doubly difficult but make their wishes stick because they have the money. Your grandson will spend his life moving from one company to another, unless he somehow “invents” Unobtanium for some firm and they make him one of the few sacred cows. On the other hand, if he strikes out on his own with some new idea, he could well become a millionaire many times over. I know several who have done just that. Their companies are listed on the NYSE. But it is a crapshoot!
He did make me feel good when he stated that as a college freshman, he had received all the Obama propaganda that all the other kids had received but he though he's put some "logic" to his decision and he decided to vote for McCain. I don't know what was his logic and I didn't care, I just knew he may be smarter than most college-age youngsters.
He's talking to a company called Kongretate. Do you know anything about them?
Oops, it’s Kongregate. Sorry
Huh? I didn't decide to leave my beloved home state. The rats in Sacramento and the illegals decided it for me.
Arizona is nice, that’s for sure. But I wonder about those giant rolling dust storms you get and the monsoon humidity. Aside from those weather blemishes it is also a nice weather state.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.