California Dreamin'
As most are aware, deep blue California has implemented the entire liberal agenda: high taxes, open borders and comprehensive environmental regulations, all wrapped in a tasty wrapper of wealth-spreading social services. Nevertheless, nirvana remains stubbornly out of reach, something my local paper has noticed.
Mercury News editorial: Job creation must be atop Brown's agenda
California needs a plan.
Not a proposal. Not an idea. Not a talking point. A real plan to attract and keep businesses and generate job growth -- the only thing that can preserve California's legacy as a bastion of American greatness. . . .
We haven't added a single net job in the past decade, while Texas has added 1 million. Yes, Texas has a plan. What are our leaders waiting for?
Has my liberal newspaper at long last discovered the virtues of Texas-style governance—low taxes and straightforward regulations for all? Don’t be ridiculous:
California has almost no incentives to offer businesses, and it will have even fewer if Brown succeeds in eliminating redevelopment agencies. While some cities have abused them, San Jose has not. It spent redevelopment money to encourage Brocade, Adobe and Cisco, among others, to invest in new facilities -- and thousands of new jobs -- right here.
Some of what's needed, like adding a top-level adviser, can be done with the stroke of the pen. But smart financial incentives for businesses to move and grow here -- such as Virginia's green jobs tax credit -- will require the Legislature's help.
There are encouraging signs. On Friday, Senate President Pro-Tem Darrell Steinberg announced he would push for emergency legislation to review California's regulatory structure and streamline -- not weaken -- it to become more business-friendly. It's about time.
So that’s it: Texas’s success at job creation is due to special incentives offered to politically favored companies and a streamlined “no” from all those un-weakened regulatory agencies in the state.
It's going to be a long year.
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Comments :
May '10
Re: California Dreamin'
George Savage:
It's going to be a long year. ·
How nice if it was only a "long year" we will be enduring. I fear a much longer penance for our many fiscal sins. The persisitant belief in a "magic bullet" fix will mean that any action take will be too trivial and unfocused to make a difference, especially considering how far behind the curve we are at present.
What I fear most is some short-term palliative that make everyone feel better, and get's the state's critical statistics to tick upwards for a short while, followed by an even bigger drop.
May '10
Re: California Dreamin'
Keynesianism and industrial policy are just like socialism: It isn't that they don't work, it's just that they haven't really been tried. Our rulers need to be more sincere, more dedicated, more -- you know, streamlined -- and then government will create millions of jobs. Millions and millions and millions!
Either Californians and their politicians are exhibiting extinguishing behavior, or they are just really, really stupid.
Oct '10
Re: California Dreamin'
It embarrasses me how many people I meet outside California who say "oh I'm so glad to be out of there, that place is going to hell."
Seriously, do we just have too many urbanites? Are coastal dwellers incapable of internalizing that not everyone is uber rich from trade, tourism and real estate? Or was the electoral system too corrupted, and things will improve now we have open primaries?
Sep '10
Re: California Dreamin'
As a recovering Californian living in Texas, this needs 1000 words but;
The big challenge I saw in CA when I was there was that the Legislature had basically stopped governing in the broader state's interest long ago. I saw the endless ballot initiatives as an effort (hearkening back to Athenian democracy) to get around (what I thought was) the break-down of representative government. Remember electric car requirements, and those signs that say "Stuff in this building causes cancer" that are on every building, and the greenhouse gas initiative? Let's face it, most, any legislative initiative is a feel good joke that they just hope might work out with the right pixie dust.
Gov. S- tried to reign it in, but was thoroughly crushed by big labor, who had long ago crushed the legislature. I suspect Brown will be utterly feckless except perhaps to plan for less business.
I would liken CA to a ship that is adrift in the wide world. No one is empowered to steer or trim the sails, they are all just hoping the weather will improve.
May '10
Re: California Dreamin'
The liberal answer would be to make Texas' laws and taxes on par with California. After all, is it fair for the states to compete against each other?
Jun '10
Re: California Dreamin'
Here in the Bay Area I've noticed that no one pays much attention to CA state politics, it comes a distant third to national and local issues. Note that "local" here means "Bay Area," Sacramento is seen as a decidedly un-hip cowtown and people here don't seem to think anything that happens there will much affect their lives one way or the other. I think people often vote a straight D ticket because of national issues (war, health care, etc.) without knowing or caring what the party has done or plans to do in Sacramento, and that's a huge problem for the state GOP.
Re: California Dreamin'
Too true. Then more jobs will go to China, which is the other success story lauded in the Mercury News editorial.
Re: California Dreamin'
George,
The model here should be John J. Cowperthwaite?
WHO???
Cowperthwaite was the financial secretary for colonial Hong Kong when it was overrun by refugees from China in the 1950s. He inspired Milton Friedman with his hands off approach, and of course Hong Kong blossomed -- even with the loss of China as a trading partner. He was so good he refused to let the government keep statistics on gross domestic product while he was running things.
Years later I asked him why. He told me, "The only thing the government can do with these statistics is misuse them." If only California could learn...
Re: California Dreamin'
Bill McGurn: George,
The model here should be John J. Cowperthwaite?
WHO???
Cowperthwaite was the financial secretary for colonial Hong Kong when it was overrun by refugees from China in the 1950s. He inspired Milton Friedman with his hands off approach, and of course Hong Kong blossomed -- even with the loss of China as a trading partner. He was so good he refused to let the government keep statistics on gross domestic product while he was running things.
Years later I asked him why. He told me, "The only thing the government can do with these statistics is misuse them." If only California could learn... · Jan 24 at 3:02pm
Bill, I've often been struck by the fact that British-ruled Hong Kong thrived in direct proportion to its seeming neglect by the mother country. Avoiding Britain's leftist economic innovations was clearly a blessing, and now thanks to you I know the name of the responsible official. If only it were possible to establish Mr. Cowperthwaite's philosophical heir as California job czar.
Jul '10
Re: California Dreamin'
So glad to be out of there.
May '10
Re: California Dreamin'
I visited Marysville/Yuba City this last weekend. While there I spoke with a man whose family had ranched and farmed in the area since the 1850's. Among the many things I learned from him was how hard it is (for a family-sized operation) to make the economics of ranching and farming work, and the obstacle at the top of the list was the tax burden.
Also, I marveled at how many Gold Rush-era buildings on Marysville's main commercial street were empty storefronts, while out in Yuba City strip malls with plenty of big-box retailers and fast-food outlets were spread far and wide.
I'm not against big chain retailers or fast-food places per se, but it seemed shortsighted to me to allow this historical capital available in Marysville to go to seed. Seems to me that other communities would jump at the chance to rehabilitate and gentrify a commercial area like that.
I know Gov. Brown has been making noise about turning the redevopment spigot off. That's good from a budgetary standpoint, I guess but, what about the Marysvilles of the state? Do they just crumble away?