Tuesday, September 21, 2010

California Business Exodus: If You Tax Something...

From Joseph Vranich:

"California is in serious trouble because many people refuse to admit to one of our big problems - the flight of businesses, capital and jobs to other states and nations. Businesses are shrinking their California footprint because high taxes and intense regulation damage their ability to compete.

Good information about the phenomena is hard to come by. Hence, out of frustration, a year ago I began compiling a list of what I call "California Disinvestment Events." The new compilation shows that 144 companies have fully or partially engaged in such events during the first three quarters of 2010, nearly triple the 51 companies discovered for all last year. You can see the list of companies that disinvest along with explanatory context here.

Such events are found in public documents. The real exodus is incalculable because so many are carried out without public notice. I think that for every one that becomes public knowledge, another dozen or more occur. Of course, many are small companies, but as they grow the economic benefits will be reaped elsewhere.

The top states gaining our businesses since January 2009 show Texas in the top spot, followed by Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Virginia and Utah. Also, companies have moved functions to Taiwan, Mexico, Brazil and Chile. The jobs include R&D, which used to be a California hallmark. Now we're seeing unusual losses."

MP: More evidence of the anti-business, anti-growth effects of high taxes and onerous regulations, and companies voting with their feet.  

U-Haul Update: The cost for a one-way 26-foot truck rental from LA to Houston is $2,279, more than 2.5 times the cost for a truck going in the opposite direction ($892), suggesting that there are a lot more people moving out of California to Texas, than from Texas to California.    

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