In early May, we like to visit California. It is spectacular, beautiful, and special. Our hero Ronald Reagan once said that “If the pilgrims had landed in California, we would have never found the rest of the country.” He was right. Today, he would be wrong.
Pilgrims were productive settlers, and today successful and productive citizens are fleeing en masse from California. It is a shame.
First stop on our trip is Oakland. Floyd has a meeting with an innovative medical specialty firm trying to start in California. The owner of the firm has started many companies, all in California. Early on the agenda for discussion was talk of moving out of the Golden State to another less regulated, business friendly state.
The wife of the CEO leaned over to me and said, “as soon as our son is out of high school, we are out of here.” Maybe they will join us in business-friendly Arizona or move on to the new Mecca for business, Texas. She continued, “they don’t seem to get it; HP and Intel will never build another plant in California.”
Until the 1990′s, California was run by a coalition of pro-business Republicans and Democrats. Then things changed. A tipping point was hit through a combination of illegal immigration, environmental regulations, and union control of government. Business started to flee, and they took conservative voters with them as they left. Demographics is destiny, and California surged to the left. This surge left compounded the problem, and more business left.
Business leaving caused government revenue to slip, so taxes were hiked. This caused even more to leave. Union control of state budgeting shifted priorities. Salaries and benefits rocketed upward; infrastructure was ignored and neglected. Roads and transportation suffered. And more business left.
California used to be first in airplanes; most aviation companies have now fled. California used to be first in defense, and now this sector is shrinking. California agriculture is suffering from lack of water. This is a direct result of failure to invest in new water capacity. California was a leader in energy production, but now most of costal California is off limits to new oil production.
With all the jobs California used to produce, real estate flourished. Now with empty store fronts and empty factories, real estate is suffering. Even tourism is down.
You would think this string of disasters would teach leaders in government to be more business-friendly. They haven’t learned, and taxes, regulation, and harassment of business is growing.
We continued down the coast, and near Santa Barbara, we met the CEO of another firm. The message was the same. He lamented, “California used to be the best place to do business, now it is the worst, and Governor Jerry Brown is only making it worse.”
Schools, communities, parks, good roads, and all the factors that made California so wonderful can only get better when business does well. If leaders want to lead again in lifestyle, they must first restore the business climate.
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About Floyd and Mary Beth Brown
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California is so weighed down with regulations and welfare I am surprized it has not sunk down into the Pacific Ocean yet . Like the old song says, “Get ready to tie up the boat in Idaho”. Too many unproductive and unmotivated individuals refusing to get off of the govt. mamory gland. Soon it will be Marshal law in the big cities to keep the polarized races from killing one another. Of course, Mr.Barry Obummer and Hillary will have foreign nationals (UN TROOPS) patroling the streets and neighborhoods. Even hardened American racists would have some problem pulling the trigger on other Americans where as United Nation troops (known for their honesty, integrity and sense of fair play (yah right)) would leap aty the chance to take a few Americans as trophys.
Spudmans1, That only means 1 thing, it will soon be time to begin shooting U.N. troops and defending our nation from the invasion of U.N. troops.
You are correct mike88. If it comes to civil war, us against the US govt., UN Troops are going find out the hard way that there are a lot of patriotic Americans who are nothing short of most excellent marksman and Markswomen too. Sure they may have the overall firepower but we’ll have the one shot, one kill mentality. Don’t waste the bullet if you can’t make the sure shot. Deer, antelope, bears, moose, wild boars are all bigger targets than humans and we’ve been shooting them for centuries however ducks, gease, teal, quail, doves and pheasants are a lot faster & smaller and we get our fair share of them too!
And do not count out the sport clay shooters either, Pull! .
I have lived in California most of my life (64 out of 68 years).
The only thing California lacks is more bipartisan and balance in the Legislative branch of Sacramento. With a majority of Democrats where they hope for 2/3rds in the Assembly and Senate after November 2012, the Republicans may as well stay home.
The blatant favoritism Democrats have of Unions, especially the California State Union, is the source of one the major problems: FINANCING in California and the overall Economy.
Governor “Moonbeam” has never produced a balanced budget in his life. First it was a Dream Budget assuming the recession would bring in tax revenues without any new tax bills; Second it was the Assumed Budget where he assumes we pass Tax Increases in November.
Not going to happen. So what does he do? First threaten all families with kids, especially where both parents work, to cut hours and days of K-12, especially K-6, school hours. He’s already threatened Seniors dependent on Medical (Medicaid and Obama does the same on that score). Basically he threatens as many as he dares (except State Union Workers unless they are on the bottom rung of teachers). If they don’t give him tax increases, they pay dearly.
What are these tax increases? He wants to make those making $250,000 or more pay more. A dream like the Buffet Tax Bill that might raise $5 billion a year more to the Treasury.
Therefore all under $250,000 pay less?
Then California has a Prop 13. If 2/3rds Democrats in Sacramento are elected, they can Amend the Constitution with 2/3rds voting and eliminate Prop 13 and raise taxes and pass any budget at will.
That would destroy California. The same pattern of Destruction of the United States in play now by Obama and Biden.
California State Collective Bargaining needs to be dropped or significantly revised.
Typically:
Hire in
Work and advance in salary
Accumulate sick leave annually
Accumulate vacation time annually
Accumulate non-compensated overtime annually
Enter retirement year and the pension formula:
Pays at the going salary for vested pension; all unused sick leave back to day 1 of employment; all vacation time unused since the beginning, and then all that “non-compensated over time” gets paid at the final salary upon retirement.
A person could collect less than $100,00 in the retirement year when working; but then over $250,000 a year for the rest of their life.
Oh, and all Health Care Insurance is paid for by the State for Life in retirement.
Then they can hire back in as consultants and do the Double Dip dance.
less than $100,000 salary when entering the retirement year…..
I lived in California most of my life. Graduated from school there,got married there,raised my kids there,but in ’99 left for Wyoming to care for elderly parents. After their eventual loss,I remained until 2007 relocating to the warmer climes due west and dropped anchor in Vegas. I do miss California but I will never return to lose my 2nd amendment rights,get stuck with high taxes including an income tax,have to live with excessive regulations in a business unfriendly state,get bulldozed by the high cost of living. The political left and envirofreaks have destroyed a state that was a real treasure. The icing on the cake is having 3 Governors in a row who’ve been useless twits,. Gray Davis was an idiot that even the libs wanted thrown out. Arnold der Governator was a dyed in wool RINO,and now there’s Re-Run Brown who doesn’t know where moonbeams come from or what day Thursday falls on. California will never rise back to it’s former greatness as long as the voters remain stupid as they are making it hard to soar like Eagles when you have to live next door to Turkeys.
As a child living in Arizona (way back in the ’50s, my Dad used to joke that after the ‘big earthquake’ Arizona would be beach-front property. Today, the weight of corruption, regulations, illegal immigration and the suppression of morality and virture will accomplish the process without the ‘earthquake.’ I’m looking forward to living at the beach!