It takes some time to get a feel of the culture of a new place, but trust me as someone that has lived in a few other states, it eventually makes a big difference. California has dramatically out performed other states, and is more expensive because it was working, in part because of the culture that is unique to California.
Quick question. Why move to California? I think everyone knows it's one of the most expensive states in the country. I sort of imagined you moving from CA to somewhere much cheaper with access to more economical space/employees.
Having started and operated small businesses in California, North Carolina, and Texas, my experience was that California was by far more onerous and expensive than the other two (which were about the same).
No I think there was a time California had a leg up on the competition, but after years of adding government regulation and taxation, some people are finding that the difference is sufficient for it to be worthwhile to move. Some people move did to housing costs, some businesses will move due to business climate. Is it the start of a trend or a one off, who knows. Time will tell.
The assumption doesn't have to be invalid. California citizens may be wealthier than those other states and spend more money on Amazon goods. California may also have more computer users with decent internet access than, say, Wyoming.
CA has relatively high taxes and labor protections vs other US states and it seems to do ok. I'd say that Euro nations have most of your list, but a high level of bureaucracy regarding business licensing and a conservative business climate (hesitancy to do commerce with new businesses).
America loves the new and shiny. In particular, the culture in CA is more than open to new ideas, often actively seeking newness. And I think that is at the root of the difference.
Only because Californians have outsourced most of their manufacturing and other heavy industry to other states and countries. If we factor in the total energy or carbon emissions cost of stuff we import then California doesn't look nearly as good.
Yeah. California is stunningly hostile to new small businesses. It's also more complicated and expensive to pay salaries and such here than in many places. It continues to be strong in business (new and old) mostly because it's a fantastic place to live (by accident of nature, mostly, not because they have more tax revenue; many places have great schools and such).
Your garden hoses and cars are greatly influenced by California's large market and their regulations. Your textbooks are greatly influenced by California and Texas. Large states, or groups of states, can influence things by simple scale, if it's not practical to go against them.
So what? This is not a new condition, so one would have expected it to have some significant impact by now if this was really a factor to anyone outside of the "I got mine so screw you" set. Yet California's economy is still overwhelmingly larger than that of any other state in the nation. If the costs of operating in California were not outweighed by the benefits you would have expected businesses to flee the state and not be replaced; this hasn't happened yet and the odds favor California coming out of the recession at the same pace as the rest of the country.
Have you considered moving to California? The economic benefit of states experimenting with laws is that you can choose what makes sense for you, instead of just accepting what's on offer in Seattle.
Yes, California is a very big state and I could imagine for example the Central Valley reaping many more benefits from any persistent remote work or company relocation trend than other states. Hadn’t considered this possibility but it makes a lot of sense.
I think it's interesting how other states have to fight so hard to get companies to move there and yet, CA one of the least business friendly places, can take it's growth completely for granted.
I mean, just look at California's history. If people were willing to upend their lives since the 1800s to move their families to the other side of the country on vague things like the promise of striking it rich somehow, those people probably had distinct personalities. Every one of California's strongest industries have been because people escaped where they were to go strike it rich (in money or fame).
Wine, Movies, Farming, Banking, Education, Tech.
California is just a state with a long history with a weird mixture of entrepreneurs you won't find elsewhere.
There's always going to be a demand for California. It's a unique country - the vibe, the culture, the creativity, the beauty. It's one of the best places in the world to start a creative business because of the raw talent that's available. People will continue to flock there, regardless of the taxes, especially in a post-scarcity world.
It's good for Californians to enforce their values. They'll keep their country unique, while the rest of the world homogenizes into a capitalist dystopia.
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