CALIFORNIA SKY IS FALLING

As the following article attests, it is now official that California has evolved into a nearly failed state. Congratulations to the uni-party state legislature and major city mayors, the organizations most responsible for this amazing as well as pathetic development.

You know when things get close to the end of the line when other western states are openly in full recruiting mode inside California and no one is really offended or complaining.

The fact is that in both 2007 and 2008, the population of American citizens living in California has diminished for the first time in state history. That out migration continues to this very day at the rate of about 3,000 legal Californians per day.

Expect that trend to not only continue, plan on an increase. The late great Golden State, a former destination location, has evolved into the best place to leave in the rear view mirror. It has taken years of concentrated hard work and focused effort to basically wreck one of the best places on earth, but we are on approach to mission accomplished.

Here are a few reasons why:

1. One of the least business friendly states in the nation. California features onerous business taxes, endless over regulation, government enabled employment litigation that is beyond the pale and the most stringent environmental restrictions known to man. Businesses large and small have been fleeing California in significant numbers for years and they aren't coming back. That trend continues.

2. One of the worst K-12 government run school systems on the planet, not to mention in the country. Concerned parents have been in hot pursuit of all the educational alternatives for at least the past decade. As the student population in public schools dwindles, children are being sent to private, parochial and charter schools or simply being home schooled. Worse yet, an ever increasing number of parents are packing up the family belongings and moving out of state to places where the public schools are demonstrably superior.

3. California is a lawyers paradise. Everyone and their dog is encouraged to file suit at virtually any and every opportunity imaginable. The courts and juries usually decide for generous awards that continue to encourage an ever growing number of plaintiffs. If you live in that state and have yet to be sued, just wait. Your turn is just around the corner. The most populous state in the union has, by far, the most attorneys. Their number continues to grow and, after all, they have to earn a living.

4. This state is the living, or maybe make that the slowly dying, example of what uni-party political control of government will do to greatness. It used to be that California was, all by itself, the sixth largest economy in the world. Now it is the eighth while it continues on a downward spiral. The Democrat party, which tends to be very liberal in this state, has controlled the state legislature and major metro mayorships for decades and the results are as plain as the nose on any face. There are few checks and balances. Left leaning policies and spending have bankrupted the state, poisoned the private sector, ballooned the public sector, destroyed public education and created an unsustainable cost of living for most residents. The record is clear and the dots are easy to connect.

5. It features one of the highest tax burdens in America. The income tax is high, gas taxes are almost off the charts, sales taxes are upper end, property taxes skyrocket when homes are sold to new buyers and more of the same is being actively pursued. It has gotten so bad that legislators now prefer to call all their new efforts at increasing taxes as "fees" all in order to deceive tax payers. Such is seen by the public for what it is: a foolish attempt at slight of hand.

6. The state is the true manifestation of the "left" coast. Every fringe cause and extremist advocacy group is not only present within the major population centers, they have radical devotees, some in position of power and influence, who will stop at nothing to impose their wishes upon an unwilling and occasionally unsuspecting majority of citizens. It is literally impossible to live in the metropolitan areas without having to not only tolerate their outlandish and often illegal activities but to be forced via the vehicle of "political correctness" to allow the imposition of their will into your personal existence. Over time it renders most people socially impotent.

7. California is home to the largest illegal alien population of any state. The public borne costs in health, education and welfare are almost beyond comprehension, yet little to nothing is ever done about it. In fact, both Los Angeles and San Francisco, among other locations, are sanctuary cities where both federal and local law enforcement are forbidden to enforce the law relative to many of the activities of illegals.

This list could go on, but the picture should be getting clearer. Decades of government mismanagement and public indifference has destroyed much of what at one time in history made California great.

Now, as longtime residents prepare to throw in the towel, other states are putting out a big, fat welcome mat. Unless some sensible leadership emerges from the shadows very soon, look for the decline to not only continue but accelerate.

The California sky is falling.


States Recruit Worried Californians
By STEPHANIE SIMON

Several Western states are launching aggressive efforts to poach jobs, talent and industry from California, sensing an opportunity to capitalize on the Golden State's current political and financial woes.
Colorado is the first out of the box with a Valentine-themed banner that will trail behind an airplane circling rush-hour traffic in Los Angeles on Friday morning, urging Californians to give Colorado a try. Ads in newspapers from San Diego to San Jose will feature a Cupid in ski boots over a bold-faced tease: "California, can you feel Colorado's love?"
Hundreds of California CEOs will receive flowery Valentine's Day cards proclaiming, "Mile High State Seeks Sea-Level Executive." The campaign even includes a YouTube video of Tom Clark, executive vice president of the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp., kissing the envelopes before depositing them lovingly into a mailbox. (Watch the video Read more from the campaign.)
Right behind Colorado are Arizona, Nevada, Oregon and Utah -- all planning to make similar runs at luring corporate executives, venture capitalists and manufacturers who might be fed up with California's political gridlock or anxious about potential tax hikes and deep cuts to schools, parks and other services.
"What's going on in California is very exciting for us because it looks like a tipping point will soon be reached," said Somer Hollingsworth, president of the Nevada Development Authority.
During California's energy crisis a decade ago, when executives feared the state might not be able to provide reliable and affordable power, Oregon reaped a bumper crop of recruits. Such instability "is really good for our state," said Tim McCabe, director of Oregon's economic development department. His recruitment budget is tight, but Mr. McCabe said Oregon won't let California's current struggles go to waste: "We're redoubling our efforts."
California's business boosters say they will be hard-pressed to respond. At the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp., Jack Kyser is preparing to mail thousands of postcards to local business owners, offering the services of a "business ombudsman" to help them cut red tape or find trained workers. He has never taken such a step before, he said, adding that he hopes it will build loyalty to California
An airplane will trail this banner over rush-hour traffic in Los Angeles Friday morning.
Ads in newspapers from San Diego to San Jose will feature this ad, with a Cupid in ski boots asking readers to "feel Colorado's love."
But he isn't betting on it. In this atmosphere of uncertainty, with the state facing a staggering $42 billion deficit, Mr. Kyser said he has little ammunition to beat back cross border raiding parties. "We know they're out there," he said. "California offers rich pickings. It definitely is a concern."
States have been vying to lure businesses from one another for decades, and California has often made a tempting target. But John Boyd, a corporate relocation consultant based in Princeton, N.J., says he senses a new eagerness among his California clients to look for greener pastures.
"The tilt of corporate investment out of California is accelerating," he said.
Colorado hopes to attract some of that exodus with the $100,000 Valentine's Day campaign, which included a Valentine, written in red ink, tweaking California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for his state's troubles. "Get well soon!" it said. "Colorado loves California." Mr. Clark, the economic development official, said he hoped the tone would come across as whimsical, not mean-spirited. "Burn and pillage is not really how we want to portray ourselves," he said.
Over the years, many states have lured jobs and investment from California. But economist David Neumark has concluded that corporate moves accounted for only a fraction of the total jobs lost in California earlier this decade.
Especially in this recession, with major corporations shedding jobs by the tens of thousands, poaching a company here or there won't show up as "anything but a drop in the bucket," said Mr. Neumark, a professor at University of California, Irvine.
For all its difficulties, California retains some distinct advantages -- and not just the beaches. Zach Nelson, the CEO of software firm NetSuite Inc., recently opened a regional hub in Denver and says it has been great for his sales. But he wouldn't consider moving his headquarters out of San Mateo, Calif.
"From a DNA standpoint, all people do in Silicon Valley all day long is think about starting a company," Mr. Nelson said. "They don't think about skiing."

Write to Stephanie Simon at stephanie.simon@wsj.com
Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page A3

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