California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s policies have made his state toxic for businesses and residents. But apparently, he still hasn’t gotten the memo.
As liberals wail about Florida’s law requiring schools to notify parents about their children’s mental health problems and prohibiting instruction about sexual orientation for very young children, Disney has been drawn into the controversy. Newsom decided to take the opportunity to ask Disney to move jobs back to California because California “represents the values” of Disney’s employees.
Disney, the door is open to bring those jobs back to California – the state that actually represents the values of your workers. https://t.co/kbCi7Zgs90
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) March 13, 2022
Newsom is likely referring to Disney’s decision to move 2,000 jobs from California to Florida in what Forbes called an “unprecedented uprooting.” But businesses fleeing California for greener pastures is anything but unprecedented. If Newsom wants to chase Florida’s success, perhaps he should recognize that the California Democratic Party is the problem. Having made California an increasingly burdensome place for doing business, it can only seethe with anger as businesses predictably leave.
A recent study identified 265 businesses that had moved their headquarters out of California from January 2018 to June 2021. The authors of the study admit that this is likely an undercount. They also note that the trend shows even more businesses relocating in 2021 despite the reopening of California’s economy.
California has the nation’s eighth-highest corporate tax rate. It’s the most regulated state in the country, with more than twice the national average of regulations. Companies don’t care what “values” Newsom and California claim to care about: That’s especially true for Disney, which has a significant relationship with China’s genocidal regime. Businesses want to operate where they can make money and not have to worry about a sea of red tape. Florida offers them that; California just keeps becoming more burdensome.
Newsom’s pride is obviously hurt by the successes of Florida and Texas — that was clear when he faced last year’s recall election. But he and his party brought this on themselves. Pandering to the phony liberal politics of Disney isn’t going to make California a more attractive state for businesses.
With its population and climate, there is no excuse for California’s governor to be begging companies to bring jobs back. Newsom and California Democrats have driven them away. California is reaping what years of one-party Democratic governance have sown. Newsom isn’t stupid, but he is too stubborn to do anything meaningful about it.
