Posted by
Playful Walrus on Tuesday, April 01, 2008 3:47:57 PM
California creates an environment hostile to business. Nevada markets itself as more friendly to business. California’s tax-and-interfere politicians get angry that businesses actually want to go where they can operate more easily or efficiently.
Evan Halper, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer, reports.
In a series of advertisements in newspapers and business journals that portray California in cartoons, the Nevada Development Authority is trying to lure California enterprises across the state line.
That’s called freedom and competition, folks.
The ads crow that Nevada, long a haven for businesses seeking refuge from taxes, has no corporate income tax, no personal income tax and no inventory tax -- plus, it has lower workers' compensation rates and a pro-business attitude.
Good for Nevada. California has corporate income taxes, personal income taxes, sales taxes, gas taxes, and all kinds of taxes.
The move by Nevada officials, who say they will spend about $1.5 million placing the ads in publications and on billboards, has been met with some annoyance among California lawmakers.
Yes, you see, California tax-raisers want you to be ignorant of your choices.
"Businesses are here because they appreciate the powers of this economy," said state Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas (D-Los Angeles), who is among the Democrats arguing for a tax hike. "I suspect Nevada wishes it could be ranked as among one of the top economies in the world."
And you are helping its economy grow. Guess what? Most businesses that move to Nevada can still participate in the California economy. That’s how trade works.
The campaign includes at least seven ads, most labeled "More Tales of the California Tax Bear…" In one, the bear has a leash around a businessman's neck and orders him to "keep dancing." In another, the animal is greedily devouring a pot of honey labeled "profits."
One of the ads doesn't include the bear at all, but instead takes direct aim at the state's movie-star governor. A giant hand snatches the wallet out of a businessman's pocket; under the quote: "I'll be back!"
Sound good to me.
The Public Policy Institute of California last year released a report that said California's relatively high tax burden and intense regulatory environment had not sparked an exodus of businesses from the state. It found that 11,000 jobs per year were relocating outside of California, fewer than the number of jobs being created in a state with more than 18 million jobs.
Then why do the California tax-raisers care about the campaign?
Schwarzenegger administration officials say other states can't compete with California, which has an economy roughly the size of Italy's. They say policies championed by Schwarzenegger, including state support for [embryonic only] stem-cell and alternative-fuel research, have made California increasingly attractive to corporations.
Great. Corporate welfare to kill babies and encourage inefficient energy policies.
To view the Nevada advertisements, go to www.latimes.com/nevadaads
We need more liberty in California. That includes freedom for businesses, otherwise known as taxpayers and employers. Business will go where various factors combine to produce favorable conditions: access to customers, access to labor, access to infrastructure and other resources, lower crime rates, lower taxes, and less government interference. People (labor) tend to prefer living, working, and shopping in a place where they’re less likely to get vandalized, burglarized, robbed, assaulted, or murdered, and where they can afford a home.
We don’t need higher taxes. We need to prioritize spending. Focus on security, law enforcement, and public safety. Privatize as much as possible – infrastructure, education, etc. If people can’t live off of the public dole here, they’re likely to move where they can, and then they’ll be another state’s problem.