It seems that over the last few years, it's been getting harder to maintain a profitable business in California with the passing of new legislation increasing costs that are difficult to absorb. I've seen businesses decide to leave for other states whose laws are more business-friendly which in turn allows growth and opportunity.
The announcement last year that Toyota was leaving CA was difficult to hear knowing some of our local friends and families would either have to relocate to Texas or no longer work for the company. The increasing burden on business made Toyota decide the move and huge relocation expenses would be less costly long term than the cost of remaining in California. How sad.
Today I was reading an e-mail from my local Chamber with an article discussing more potential job-killer legislation. For the life of me, I can't figure out why the government feels it needs to keep adding to the burden of business in CA. The more legislation that is passed making it difficult to remain in business, the more unemployment is going to rise as a result. Isn't this the opposite of what should be done? Shouldn't we be finding ways to increase employment instead?
The list of bills currently before the legislature is too lengthy to list in this post, but if you'd like to read what is potentially coming down the pike, see http://www.cajobkillers.com/priorities/. The categories include:
- Increased labor costs
- Increased fuel cost
- Increased taxes
- Increased burdensome environmental legislation
- Increased healthcare costs
- Economic development barriers
- Increased unnecessary litigation costs
Hopefully, the legislators will see how negatively our businesses are impacted by the continued passage of laws that stifle our growth opportunities. I have a dream for my business and employees and hope the passage of job-killer legislation doesn't prevent it from happening.
I'd love to hear your feedback. Please leave a comment below.
Skull/crossbones image courtesy of Simon Howden on freedigitalimages.net
