More Taxes or More Jobs? California Shows We Can’t Have Both
It’s hard to find a politician who isn’t eager to “do something” about high unemployment.
Turns out California has found one way to save and create certain kinds of jobs—spend like mad and raise taxes.
That job-creation strategy has worked quite well for government-sector workers. Problem is the statewide unemployment rate is still among the highest in the nation, and many private-sector employers are heading to states like Texas, where taxes are lower and regulations are lighter.
“I would love to have companies calling me saying, ‘We’d like to move to California, can you help us with that relocation?’ I get none of those calls,” says business relocation coach Joe Vranich. “The calls I do get are, ‘Hello, we want to move out of California, can you help us do that?’” Vranich says there’s no one reason why businesses leave.
He calls it “death by a thousand cuts,” where job creators get fed up with everything from high taxes to traffic gridlock and legal hassles.
Take Rick and Jack Newcombe, the father-son team that runs Creators Syndicate. A long legal battle with the city of Los Angles might end up being their company’s final cut. The Newcombes say the city arbitrarily stuck the company into a higher tax category and officials are applying the hike retroactively. City officials are demanding $400,000 in back taxes, but Rick Newcombe calls the whole episode “legalized theft,” adding that a tax penalty of that size would force the company to lay off 10 employees.
It’s ironic that such drama unfolds in a city where Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is always doing something—transit projects! green jobs!— he hopes will stimulate the economy.
And steep statewide unemployment persists long after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger eagerly accepted billions in federal stimulus funds. In fact, the Bush-Obama scatter shot of bailouts, stimuli, and rescue plans has fallen well short of proponents’ promises.
Want to create and save jobs? Maybe it’s time for politicians to stop doing so much and start undoing some of their worst blunders.
“More Taxes or More Jobs?” is written and produced by Ted Balaker, who also hosts. Camera-Animation: Hawk Jensen; Associate Producer: Paul Detrick; Additional Photography: Alex Manning.
Approximately seven minutes. Go to http://reason.tv for downloadable iPod, HD and audio versions of this and all our videos.
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Duration : 0:7:1
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Tags: alex manning, barack obama, creators syndicate, hawk jensen, jack newcombe, los angeles, paul detrick, reason foundation, reason magazine, reason.com, reason.org, reason.tv, regulation, rick newcombe, Schwarzenegger, stimulus, taxes, ted balaker, unemployment, villaragoisa, vranich
June 2nd, 2010 at 1:02 am
Would the last …
Would the last person to leave California, please return my jumper cables!!
June 2nd, 2010 at 1:02 am
@MSSC73 : The major …
@MSSC73 : The major problem rests with PUBLIC employees union members, not the private sector. Public employees unions are numerous, while private union employees are almost extinct.
June 2nd, 2010 at 1:02 am
Government …
Government employees can’t seem to understand that their pay comes from taxes received from the PRIVATE sector. The PRIVATE sector is responsible for paying the wages, salaries, benefits, and pensions of a staggering number of government employees. The private sector has left California for greener pastures, and who could blame them? Today, the state is broke. Welfare recipients, and government employees, have sucked all the tax dollars up. Now what?
June 2nd, 2010 at 1:02 am
To all the …
To all the companies in Kalifornia. Come on out to Texas. We will take you. Think about it. No state income tax. Thats more of the money you earn in your pocket. Not the union leaders were you are stuck now.
June 2nd, 2010 at 1:02 am
hello # …
hello #VIDEOPOSTERID#, incredible video! It’s too bad that youtube will never allow full tv episodes as well as movies otherwise youtube would most likely possibly be perfect. Which is the reason why I RANDSET(use|started using|depend on|go with|go to|head over to)# stream episodes (.) net instead in order to enjoy all the shows and movies that youtube doesn’t allow
More Taxes or More Jobs? California Shows We Can’t Have Both
June 2nd, 2010 at 1:02 am
@kohlsblows right …
@kohlsblows right back at ya blower!
June 2nd, 2010 at 1:02 am
@consultantmichael …
@consultantmichael You are so ignorant…
June 2nd, 2010 at 1:02 am
Tax Marijuana, …
Tax Marijuana, Liquor, and Cigarettes. Things California has plenty of.
June 2nd, 2010 at 1:02 am
I am in CA but our …
I am in CA but our business is located in another state….here in northern CA, many of us would like to see the state divided in 2…let the libs down south deal with the problems they’ve created & with the illegals or let Mexico have it, esp. Hollywood….we in the north will take care of ourselves & vote the bums who created this mess out of office…Oh, & we’ll include SF & Pelosi as a bonus to Mexico!!
June 2nd, 2010 at 1:02 am
CA is screwing its …
CA is screwing its tax base to pay for public union demands and social welfare for anchor babies. Both the dems and the GOP in CA are in collusion, although there are a handful of fiscal conservatives in sacramento. I personally know about a dozen entire familes that have left for 5 other states over the last 3 years.Its going to increase if Jerry Brown is elected gov.
June 2nd, 2010 at 1:02 am
The union members …
The union members are like a cult. They are not independent thinkers and would rather be sheep-feeding off their neighbor’s land.
June 2nd, 2010 at 1:02 am
Best one I saw this …
Best one I saw this month! -> Perfect online @
watch *** last *** movies. com (delete ***’s)
June 2nd, 2010 at 1:02 am
California is a …
California is a beautiful state. Too bad it’s government is such a mess. Why in the world is that guy staying in L.A.? If my state treated me that way, I’d move. I don’t think I’d move to Texas, but maybe Nevada wouldn’t be so bad.
June 2nd, 2010 at 1:02 am
I’m stuck here in …
I’m stuck here in Kleptofornia until I retire or get RIFed. I was born here and it didn’t used to be this way.
June 2nd, 2010 at 1:02 am
Politicans forget …
Politicans forget Hazlitt’s and Bastiasts broken window fallacy. If you tax people and use that money for more jobs, IT SEEMS more jobs are being created. But what we overlook is that people have less money, money that would have been spend by the people themselves and in the processes created more jobs. Yes, we create jobs, as the politicians say, but we also create jobs. We just do not see the descruction, we only see the creation part.
June 2nd, 2010 at 1:02 am
California needs to …
California needs to fail! Conservatives get it, Progressives do not. Common sense – 60% of my income is enough of a tax burden already. If we raise the tax burden of the productive they will produce less. The government needs to spend less and do more with less thru efficiency just like the real world does. The most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government and I’m here to help. Any Reagan Conservative will be better than the Oduma/Paloser/Reeks combo!
June 2nd, 2010 at 1:02 am
@asphyxiafeeling I …
@asphyxiafeeling I wish CA could be fixed too, it used to be a nice state. but, it is way too late now. Plus Mexico is now taking over California. The best solution would be to strip what of worth is left in CA and then give the state to Mexico so that Americans don’t have to pay for all the welfare ghettos there!
June 2nd, 2010 at 1:02 am
The government …
The government can’t tax and spend their way to prosperity, but they don’t get it.
June 2nd, 2010 at 1:02 am
I’ve been selling …
I’ve been selling house plans all over America for decades. I’m located in north Texas. In the past twelve months I haven’t sold a single plan outside of Texas. Everytime my caller ID shows a 281 area code and the name is an oil company, I’m rejoicing because I’m gonna sell another house plan today! Look at my YouTube Channel.
June 2nd, 2010 at 1:02 am
I’ve lived in …
I’ve lived in California my whole life. I love this place. I hope we can fix this.
June 2nd, 2010 at 1:02 am
@real80smusic WOW, …
@real80smusic WOW, Wacko land. Yeah sure Buddy, Bush was a Democrat and you’re smack dab in the middle of the road! I don’t know what Nerdcore is, but I know you’d like it if Josh Homme came over to your house and you up the ass. QOTSA RULES BITCH!
As for your hatred of Mexicans, I see you have nothing to say in reply, so I’ll repeat:
If you wanna blame Mexicans for the Bush tax cuts (two separate? tax cuts mind you!) NOT WORKING, knock yourself out!! LOL.
June 2nd, 2010 at 1:02 am
@Zakdayak oh excuse …
@Zakdayak oh excuse me indy nerdcore loser with no friends, but I don’t have any FOS on my channel, mental midget.
mexicans are the biggest racists on the planet. just look at la raza and all the murdering they are doing to blacks in l.a.
case closed
bush was a democrat as far as all of his stances go. just like fdr. wilson, etc
i’m not a pub though, im middle of the road politically.
June 2nd, 2010 at 1:02 am
that’s it, you have …
that’s it, you have OCD or something and I’m lonely…go yourself, I’m going to debate some tits on MSN…Fuckin asshole, I say black, he says white…Fuck you Nanny!
June 2nd, 2010 at 1:02 am
@TitoIsTheGreatest …
@TitoIsTheGreatest wrong adverbs can be one word and multiple-word (adverbial phrases) lol i know about adverbial phrase before you even mentioned it… i brought you plenty of sites, you didnt bring anything of substance… and you fail economics too… it’s silly to say that ausitrian economic is fiction
June 2nd, 2010 at 1:02 am
@TitoIsTheGreatest …
@TitoIsTheGreatest why did you even bring up your 1st language? it has nothing to do w/ english or latin… and it’s no excuse for you to cry all day long when i already gave you the sites..