Written by Nicholas Vetrisek
With every passing day and subsequent regulation, it is becoming more and more clear to Californians that in order to prosper, leaving the state is imperative.
This isn’t simply the opinion of most residents, it is also backed up by data. According to Business Insider, California had the third largest number of people leaving the state, only behind New York and Illinois. The primary reason cited was housing, but there are still numerous other causes of Californians moving to other states.
One clear reason is the hostile climate for small businesses. California has a relatively high corporate tax rate and the highest top marginal tax rate for personal income in the country at 12.3%.
On top of that is the fact that California is famous for having some of the most draconian and constrictive regulations in the entire country. This is leading many small business owners to move to places like Texas where there is no corporate tax and relatively little regulation.
Another reason is immigration. There is a reason that despite losing over 100,000 people multiple years in a row, the state’s population has consistently increased. When immigrants enter the state by the hundreds of thousands, whether legally or illegally, it fundamentally changes the character of the state.
A report by the California Census Bureau says that 44 percent of people speak a language other than English in the home and in Los Angeles specifically, that number is 54 percent. This language difference is evidence of the ongoing cultural shift in California.
Lastly, the state is simply too expensive. The astronomical cost of living combined with the always increasing housing costs have made it clear to both those looking to start a family and those about to retire that living comfortably in the Golden State is nothing but a pipe dream.
