As Its Businesses Flee, Is There Hope for California?

RCM ^ | 07/03/2014 | Carson Bruno

[SeekAndFind]

For the past six years, the Tax Foundation's "State Business Climate Index" has named California 48th in the nation. CEO Magazine has placed it dead last for the past eight years in its "Best and Worst States for Business" rankings. The causes of California's business climate struggles are well-documented: high, overly complicated, and numerous taxes, expensive property, increasing energy costs, burdensome labor and environmental regulations, and a state legislature indifferent to business concerns, among others.

So, when rankings like CNBC's show California more competitive, it raises questions. Why? And is there hope for California? While most rankings look narrowly at a few specific areas (for instance, the Tax Foundation looks just at state taxes), rankings like CNBC's "America's Top States for Business" examine the business climate more broadly including all the components a business might evaluate before making location decisions.

Released last week, CNBC's 2014 rankings, which encompass ten categories - cost of doing business, economy, infrastructure, workforce, quality of life, technology and innovation, business friendliness, education, cost of living, and access to capital - put California at #32; still in the bottom half, but at least not in the bottom ten where California typically finds itself.

However, the better score isn't necessarily cause for celebration. Examining both California's category ranks and trends since before the Great Recession (in 2007, California ranked 28th overall), shows weaknesses for the Golden State, particularly in areas on which the state has historically relied. 2007 ranks are used as the baseline since the recession has forced companies to be even more discerning when assessing locations in which to do business.

[sickoflibs]

RE:”It may surprise you to learn that there is a huge body of Californians who agree with you.
Unfortunately, it only takes a minuscule majority of permanent clueless to maintain the image of a state gone insane.”

I understand :)

[sickoflibs]

RE:”The hard fact of the matter is that Maryland has been corrupt far longer than California. But then there’s always New Jersey for you guys to point to and say, “see we aren’t the bottom of the barrel, only right next to it!”

There's always CA to point to how Maryland isn't quite at the bottom: Pelosi and Brown and Boxer and Hollywood.

Fruits and nuts, mixed nuts for diversity.

Heck, you folks invented homosexuality in San Francisco.

[MaxMax]

Just think how much money CA would make if they raised sales taxes to 23%
and at the same time placed toll booths at every state exit for $5000.oo

It would solve all their spending problems, for about a day.

[sickoflibs]

RE:”Just think how much money CA would make if they raised sales taxes to 23%
and at the same time placed toll booths at every state exit for $5000.oo”

And they should raise CA income taxes on all those making over say $150K to a ~ 90% rate, heck it was higher than that for millionaires in the 1950s at the federal level.

That $5K toll is a good idea but only for people leaving, make the rich pay if they want to leave,

It worked under communism.

And now plenty of more hungry mouths to feed with all these new 'immigrants' , they need it more than us rich white privileged.

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

They’ll just raise taxes on the remaining businesses to make up for the loss. That’s how libs think.

You give them too much credit. Thinking stops at "just raise taxes."

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

I watched a really old show the other day, the highway was new back then and it was not crowded. Must have been amazing

That's what I like about old movies. I like to see what life was like back then.

[MaxMax]

They could also fix the traffic problem by taking cars away from people without a job.
Or tag them to only be able to drive after 8pm. And tax the day cars more, they voted for their
Gov to nanny them, why not. Maybe $250 a month for their driving luxury. They can afford it. And $30 and hour min wage!

[Vision Thing]

“But at least you are right about our weather, it’s the best in the world!”

I dare say that this sounds so shallowfornian. :)

[caww]

One of my best friends just closed her business near Monterrey. She was sooo disappointed. The past year she said she and her husband had to put their own savings back into the business just to keep it going....til it became obvious what they had to do.