Business Exodus from California Accelerates

[Geee]

Human Events:




What happens in California doesn't stay in California. For better or worse (and right now, it's much worse), what's happening in California is coming your way as cash-strapped liberal states turn to higher taxes

In 2010, 204 California companies expanded outside California or moved out completely. In 2009, the number was 51. The gold is fleeing the Golden State.

California's infrastructure is crowded and crumbling. The school system is in a death spiral. The universities are overpriced and bloated with unions and bureaucrats. The tax base is narrow and focused on the rich, many of whom are leaving.



The state's environmental laws have crippled a can-do culture with can-never-do paralysis. An estimated 5 million residents are illegally in the state.

The official unemployment rate is 12.5%. Counting those who have given up searching for a job and those who are working reduced hours or part time, the rate is closer to 20%. In parts of Los Angeles, and in the water-starved Central Valley, unemployment ranges from 20% to 40%. More than 3 million California residents receive food stamps, up 47% since 2007.

This decline did not happen overnight, but the negative trends are accelerating.