Posted on 01/02/2021 4:16:01 AM PST by karpov
The late, great urban theorist, Jane Jacobs, wrote in her seminal The Death and Life of Great American Cities that, "there is no leeway for such chancy trial, error, and experimentation in the high-overhead economy of new construction. Old ideas can sometimes use new buildings. New ideas must use old buildings."
She was explaining that people with innovative business ideas need an inexpensive place to get started. After all, the founders of Apple, Google, and Disney birthed their enterprises in garages. In California, these days, the cost of real estate—and everything else, for that matter—is so high, that few people can afford the cost of entry. That's why so many innovators are high-tailing it to Texas and elsewhere.
Jacobs sprang to mind as the latest news reports that Silicon Valley stalwarts, Hewlett Packard and Oracle, are moving their headquarters from the San Francisco Bay Area to Texas. More than 200,000 Californians left the state between 2018 and 2019, some of whom might be among the next generation of tech moguls looking for cheap warehouse space to foster their groundbreaking concepts.
The once Golden State keeps growing—albeit at the lowest rate since 1900—thanks to the birth rate. The key reason for the continuing exodus is real estate is so unaffordable here that only established firms and families can afford the tab. This is the direct result of progressive public policies, which focus on divvying up existing wealth rather than letting people create more of it.
California officials love to boast that the state is the world's fifth-largest economy—and point to Silicon Valley as evidence that we're still on the cutting edge of entrepreneurial activity. But California is driving on fumes—living off the residual investments and innovations of past generations. These lawmakers take credit for something they seem intent on destroying.
(Excerpt) Read more at reason.com ...
Kalifornia’s thriving? Who knew?
Thrive, new politicians of any party
??
Bwwahahahaha
Bee gets me every time.
If it was just real estate prices companies would have moved years ago... to places cheap like West Virginia.
That’s not what’s happening.
They’re leaving because California’s created a toxic culture.
Considering that the entire country is in the midst of a communist coup, a discussion of what California needs to do to thrive is irrelevant.
Gov Nuisance is fueling his presidential ambitions, boasting that the state is still the world's fifth-largest economy.
Nuisance cant seem to fathom California is driving on empty----—living off the residual investments and innovations of past generations.
The only reason more people haven’t moved is that their homes are protected from one of the propositions passed a few years ago that keeps property taxes low. If they move especially within state, they lose the protection.
That policy only lets you stay in your home if you accept that you’ll receive reduced services and massive government debt (the latter is generally acceptable because nobody thinks they’ll have to pay it off). If spending is restricted it works, but gubmint workers still get huge salaries and raises that far exceed the limited tax increases - so more money is borrowed and services slashed. It also causes areas to stagnate as newcomers are reluctant to come in and pay taxes (at current rates) several times higher than their settled neighbors.
This has started to play out in NJ since Christie capped property tax increases at 2%; teachers still get raises higher than that, and other areas are cut/more money is borrowed. So we drive on horrible road surfaces with road signs overgrown by brush, while everyone pretends they have the best school district because it costs so much...
CA gets over $400+ billion from Fedzilla annually.
Public employee salaries are less of a problem than the insanely generous pensions and healthcare bennies.
Fixing the massive voter fraud in Cali along with illegal immigration and things will right themselves.
California is no longer America. California has seceded by declaring to be sanctuary and abrogating namy federal laws.
Those who live there are Californians, and are no longer really Americans.
Politicians, new politicians? What a joke. There is no law in california, only tyranny of those ruling the state
True; I was lumping them together (I should have been more clear). Those future costs will probably be the rationale for trying to tax people who flee high-tax states in the future; they paid the high salaries while they lived here, but those workers will cost tons even in retirement - and there won’t be anyone left to contribute towards those expenses.
The accumulated obligations are what is killing CA, NJ, NY, IL; anyone looking to move there (people or businesses) understands they would just be buying shares in massive IOUs, and more and more current revenues will be diverted to pay for pensions and benefits of people who retired decades earlier.
“Public employee salaries are less of a problem than the insanely generous pensions and healthcare bennies.”
Exactly! Government employees seem to draw their salary for 30 years and then retire and live another 30 years and draw more take home pay as a retiree than they did while they were employed. Also, they are granted cost of living adjustments during their retirement. This is insane and is impossible to sustain. This house of cards is going to come crashing down and take our entire economy with it.
To continue thieving, keep the same ones!
“new politicians”
LOL. They got what they voted for. Large urban areas outvote conservative areas.
What is new - and a trend that started in California but is rapidly going national - is the emergence of a political class that is actively hostile to small business. These politicians - invariably Marxist - often Black or Hispanic, sometimes miseducated white university victims - write legislation and push regulation that intentionally penalizes the small business owner. Revenge against Whites, Asians, and Jews for racial grievances? An extended form of reparations? Smashing the kulaks in advance of the Revolution? Any or all of the above - but the active political antipathy is rapidly driving out those California wealth producers who cannot afford sufficient influence to keep a place at the table.
Yep. This article is much like one that advocates wings for frogs, so they don’t bump their rears when they hop.
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