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Economy
California Bleeding Manufacturing Jobs, Report Shows
2009-08-04
California is shedding manufacturing jobs faster than any other state thanks to heavy regulation and high taxes, according to a new study.

A report out of the Milken Institute found that California has shed nearly 80,000 manufacturing jobs over the past five years, as neighboring states gained 62,000 jobs in the same sector. The new numbers suggest that the federal government might want to think twice before following in California's footsteps and instituting sweeping regulations on the energy industry and elsewhere.

Otherwise the Golden State might not be the only one that's losing its luster.

"Without manufacturing, where is the wealth going to be produced to hire the accountants, to hire the attorneys, to pay the actors and actresses?" said Tim Strelitz, president of California Metal-X. Strelitz' company is one of the few heavy manufacturers left in California, and it's half the size it was seven months ago.

Strelitz said that while California's manufacturing jobs are moving to other states in North America, a lot of them are going straight to Asia, "where they have no pollution controls and no health controls."

Christopher Thornberg, with Beacon Economics in Los Angeles, suggested that efforts to rescue manufacturing jobs will have to wait as the state grapples with its budgetary crisis. "Can our business environment be improved? Absolutely. Would it be good for the state? Absolutely. Can manufacturing be fostered? Absolutely. Is this the time to be worrying about it, absolutely not," he said.
That makes no sense whatsoever ...
But American manufacturing has been on a steady decline for decades and some economists say they fear that if the trend is not addressed soon the U.S. industrial base will disappear for good. After World War II, manufacturing accounted for one in every three American jobs. Now it's one in 10 and falling.

The Milken report blamed California's exportation of manufacturing jobs on heavy regulation, a hostile legislature and the highest tax rate in the United States. Milken economist Perry Wong said the state lost about 25 percent of its employment base in manufacturing and about 33 percent in the high-tech sector.

The Milken report suggested that California streamline its regulatory procedures for manufacturers, launch a campaign to encourage state workers to pursue careers in the manufacturing field and create a network of training and research centers throughout the state for the sector.
Posted by:GolfBravoUSMC

#11  The Governor should make up a NERO AWARD of a golden violin and present it to each Sacramento twit on TV.

Oh, and lead a mare into the state capital presenting it to the leadership saying: "your wife has come to visit"
Posted by: 3dc   2009-08-04 21:20  

#10  CA's ag is being laid waste by the Endangered Species Act, wich has resulted in a manmade drought. Totally by design. As the judge noted, farmers have "junior" water rights. End of game. Sacramento has spoken.
Posted by: Rex Mundi   2009-08-04 20:49  

#9  #4 And in 2014 the expansion of the Panama Canal is supposed to be complete, which means a shipping lane from Shanghai to Houston.

"Governor Perry, I'm thinking about relocating my business to Texas. Can you tell me what regulations apply?

"Regu-what?"
Posted by: Matt   2009-08-04 20:12  

#8  I'm sure Obama's Cap & Tax will help manufacturing (move overseas).
Posted by: DMFD   2009-08-04 19:23  

#7  The environmentalists have been working to kill agriculture for years by restricting the water rights. They want to be sure that all of the rivers are pristine, and the water is not wasted on farms.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia   2009-08-04 18:21  

#6  Just watch, CA agriculture is next.
Posted by: whitecolllar redneck   2009-08-04 17:49  

#5  Sorry AC, Hollywood is gone also.

The Hollywood of old is now gone as well. The once proud movie mecca is now run down, with gangs, the homeless and prostitution rampant on any given night. The only decent part of town is the unincorporated West Hollywood, know for its high concentration of gays. That part of town is not bad actually, although the traffic, like most of Los Angeles, is a nightmare.

Hollywood's message to California: Leaving on a jet plane

California is losing hundreds of millions of dollars annually to these "runaway" productions. Runaway used to mean a film was over budget, or it was breaking box office records. Now it means they will film somewhere else.
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC   2009-08-04 17:04  

#4  The next big blow to the California economy will be the expansion of port facilities on the west coast of Mexico, and the highways to link them directly to the American midwest and east. This will allow the lucrative Pacific trade to bypass California's extortionist pinko unions and power-freak legislators.
In 20 years there will be nothing left but entertainment and welfare, the latter most likely financed by federal handouts extorted with the votes of a massive deadbeat population.
Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy   2009-08-04 15:57  

#3  The arrogance and ignorance of the politicians in the California State Legislature is breathtaking. They pass 1600 new laws annually, and literally think that the measure of their job performance is the amount of micromanagement control they exert over every aspect of your life here. They cannot imagine that people are voting with their feet and bailing out, because there are so many people lined up to move here. BUT....those leaving are producers and wage earners, and those arriving are net non-producers who arrive with their hand out. How else do you explain that we have 12% of the US population but 30+ % of the welfare cases? This is the future for the nation with Zero running the country.......
Posted by: NoMoreBS   2009-08-04 14:53  

#2  It takes NO money to halt most of these "dis-incentives". Just the will to do so.
Posted by: tipover   2009-08-04 13:34  

#1  Christopher Thornberg, with Beacon Economics in Los Angeles, suggested that efforts to rescue manufacturing jobs will have to wait as the state grapples with its budgetary crisis.

Idiot! By then they are gone!

Solve the budget crisis by lining up the state senators and representatives and making them swim across the Salton Sea.

When the all die from the pollution and bacteria the budget crisis is easily solved.
Posted by: 3dc   2009-08-04 13:01  

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