California economy

U.S. CEOs again call California most hostile to business

It’s a May tradition: Chief Executive magazine announces its best and worst states when it comes to receptivity to business. And in what’s also a May tradition, California is found to be the worst. That’s 10 years in a row

Germans turn on CA-style green energy push

Chris Reed May 11, 2014

California may think of itself as the epicenter of the green religion, but even more extreme environmentalism has been playing out in Europe. In Germany, the result is increasingly sharp disillusionment. The Washington Times has the details: “[Germany moved] to

Exodus costs CA

John Seiler May 9, 2014

People and businesses flee California’s high taxes and regulations. How much does that cost the state budget? A new book by Travis Brown, “How Money Walks,” quantifies it; as does his website, howmoneywalks.com. Writing in the Orange County Register, Adam

$26 minimum wage?

John Seiler May 8, 2014

California’s minimum wage rises to $9 an hour from $8 on July 1. Then in 2015, it rises to $10. That’s still pretty low for this expensive state. So Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., is proposing $26 an hour. That still

Taxes, regs clog new biz formation in USA, CA

John Seiler May 7, 2014

An alarming new study by the liberal Brookings Institution shows business dynamism has dropped by half from the Reagan Boom of three decades ago. Look at this graph: “Firm entry” means new startup companies. “Firm exit” means the companies are gone.

Jerry Brown expresses satisfaction with CA’s 24% poverty rate

Chris Reed May 4, 2014

If you live in a state that has by far the highest effective poverty rate in the U.S. — at just under one-quarter of the population — you would seem unlikely to express satisfaction with the economics status quo. But

Gov. Brown excuses Toyota move with Schumpeter

John Seiler May 3, 2014

It was free-market economist Joseph Schumpeter who coined the phrase, “creative destruction.” He meant that a dynamic economy doesn’t stand still. That cars replace buggies; trucks replace conestoga wagons; computers replace typewriters; smartphones replace line phones. A dynamic society is different

Sen. Lieu is Shocked! — Shocked! — Toyota is leaving Torrance

John Seiler May 2, 2014

Democratic State Sen. Ted Lieu is Shocked! — Shocked! — that Toyota’s U.S. headquarters is splitting Torrance, which he represents, for Texas. He wrote on his website: “I am really angry. Nothing prepared any of us for this surprise announcement

Dallas editorial chortles over Toyota departing CA for Texas

Chris Reed May 2, 2014

Monday’s announcement that Toyota is moving its North American headquarters from Torrance to the suburbs of Dallas prompted the usual schizophrenic approach in California: Some editorial writers and pundits lamented the loss of 3,000 middle-class jobs, but Gov. Jerry Brown

Alleged CA budget renaissance: Yet another hole in narrative

Chris Reed April 30, 2014

The readiness of the Sacramento and East Coast media to accept the narrative that Gov. Jerry Brown is a genius who has solved California’s previously immense budget problems is everywhere. An accountant — as opposed to a journalist or a