Freeper Troll says California sucks for businesses

[thundley4]

SomeGuynTexas (61 posts)         Mon Nov-01-10 11:47 AM
Original message
California is completely insane...We give up.
   
We (my small company that I am part owner of) have been working on a proposal for two years to begin manufacturing of a small gidget/thingy for a government customer. We aren't talking B2 bomber style money, but respectable money (think $50K - 100K/Unit x hundreds of units). We have cash that is burning a hole in our pockets and we are ready to rock and roll.

We've solicited input from all the stakeholders and the number one state that keeps winning the poll is California. Almost everyone involved in the project is pro-California for a number of sensible reasons. Access to manufacturing. Familiarity with the technology. Access to technology centers. Access to a skilled labor pool. Etc... But none of the stakeholders has ever done business in California. This should of been a clue for us.

Last week we receive a response back from one of the finalists to our Request for Quote. It was 246% higher than any other competing quote we received. Two and a half times higher.

WTF?

At first we thought it was a typo (couldn't be, the same number was in the quote 7 or 8 times on different pages). Then we thought they made a calculation error. Nope. We called them. It was a number of issues, mainly regulatory requirements for doing business, taxes, etc...all charges and risks unique to the State of California. We gave up and informed the stakeholders.

We spoke to the company (located in Sunnyvale) and it was mind boggling the burden the state puts on small manufacturers. There was no way around it, nor was there any reasonable way to mitigate the additional costs. We had no clue it was that expensive. I should have. I did a similar contract 17 years ago in South Los Angeles and it was a money maker for all involved. It's what got my little company on solid ground.

20 years ago I would not have hesitated to open a product line anywhere in CA. The accessibility to resources in that state was unparalleled. Not so any more.

So much for my dream of being able to live in San Diego or Napa.

In short, CA is toast for us. We threw the proposal in the trash and moved on. Hello Mississippi and Alabama.

Holy Cow California, what the hell happened?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9433231

Tansy_Gold   (1000+ posts)             Mon Nov-01-10 11:51 AM
Response to Original message
1. I guess maybe Californians wanted to protect their environment
   
Edited on Mon Nov-01-10 11:52 AM by Tansy_Gold
or their workers' safety or make sure they get paid a living wage. You know, stuff like that. Maybe there isn't a whole lot of that in Mississippi or Alabama. . . . or Texas.

Of course, they don't have the skilled work force or the access to technology either, do they.

I guess you get what you pay for.
TG, NTY

PS I was gonna alert on this post for accusing the whole state of California for being insane, but I decided maybe it would spark an interesting discussion instead.

lumberjack_jeff   (1000+ posts)           Mon Nov-01-10 11:51 AM
Response to Original message
2. The fact that real estate is 4x as expensive is a factor, don't you think? n/t

tabatha   (1000+ posts)           Mon Nov-01-10 11:52 AM
Response to Original message
6. Exactly what taxes?
   
Have been in a small manufacturing business here in CA for over 20 years, and are unaware of what you are talking about.

Your pot farm flies under the radar.

alcibiades_mystery   (1000+ posts)             Mon Nov-01-10 12:03 PM
Response to Reply #6
15. Yes, but are you building "gidget/thingys?" I don't think you are
   
And as such, you're not aware of the oppressive gidget/thingy taxes and regulations, which are the most onerous gidget/thingy taxes in the whole of the industrialized world!

Indeed, the gidget/thingy regulations alone make it impossible for any business that hopes to make a profit to build a gidget/thingy in the state of California. Why, just last year an amateur gidget/thingy enthusiast was sued by the State Board of Gidget/Thingy manufacturing for building a gidget/thingy in his own basement!

For shame, California! If you want to know why Californians aren't employed in the once thriving gidget/thingy manufacturing business, you need only look at the impossible burden that the government puts on gidget/thingy production!

Sarcasm, but it is true.

county worker   (1000+ posts)           Mon Nov-01-10 11:53 AM
Response to Original message
7. This looks a lot like a bull shit post to me.
   
Be more specific. What is your business plan? What are you making? Who are your suppliers? I have been a controller of manufacturing companies in CA for a long time. Most successful companies here know it is not the State but the business prowess that determines if you are successful.

And many successful businesses move if they want to stay that way.

The DUmmies love making excuses for their liberal shitholes from Detroit to Califruitopia.

[USA4ME]

The left has been running CA for years and the exodus from there has been going on for a while, just as it has in many of the states in the NE.  Not surprising; business wants to move where the costs are lower, and the workers will follow.  The smarter employees's will admit that their lib economic models don't work.

.

[Wineslob]

Idjit boy is talking Sunnyvale, the land of all things PC............................nuf said.

[Karin]

There's just no talking to them, is there?  Heads in sand. 

[JohnnyReb]

Mississippi or Alabama. . . . or Texas.

Of course, they don't have the skilled work force or the access to technology either, do they.

 They have every type labor you need....up to and including rocket scientist and brain surgeons. What's California got these days, pot growers and actors?

[jukin]

tabatha   (1000+ posts)           Mon Nov-01-10 11:52 AM
Response to Original message
6. Exactly what taxes?
  
Have been in a small manufacturing business here in CA for over 20 years, and are unaware of what you are talking about.

You lie.  I really have been in manufacturing in Kalifornia since 1978 when i got my BSME. I have started up four companies during that time.  NO WAY IN HELL WOULD I OPEN ONE IN KALIFORNIA. In fact, I have closed the last company and now do only service and consultation on the existing equipment.  Yes the economy was part of closing but 80% of closing is that we have a city/county/state government ACTIVELY working against you.  In 2006 we had 9 pretty well paid employees in the $50-100K range, we did just under two million in gross sales (90% of that from out of state, 50% from out of country) that is all gone.  The only jobs that the government wants are service and in my town only maids and waiters.

Sadly, I have lived here for the fifty years of my life and won't leave.  that means that business and the technology we developed will stall and this business will go overseas.

[true_blood]

tabatha   (1000+ posts)           Mon Nov-01-10 11:52 AM
Response to Original message
6. Exactly what taxes?
Have been in a small manufacturing business here in CA for over 20 years, and are unaware of what you are talking about.

WOW!?! You must be getting some killer "tax breaks" from the libs in Commiefornia. Why is it businesses seem to flock from Commiefornia tabatha?!

[IassaFTots]

Mississippi or Alabama. . . . or Texas.

Of course, they don't have the skilled work force or the access to technology either, do they.

 They have every type labor you need....up to and including rocket scientist and brain surgeons. What's California got these days, pot growers and actors?

JR, I think you are mistaken.  There ain't no skilt work force in Texas.  Our economy is in the crapper, and taxes are outta sight!  MMmmmmmkay?   

[JohnnyReb]

JR, I think you are mistaken.  There ain't no skilt work force in Texas.  Our economy is in the crapper, and taxes are outta sight!  MMmmmmmkay?   

Ok tell any lie you need to keep the Okie California perverts out.

[jukin]

Kalifornia is so great for business that all of them are flocking here....oh wait...

List names 100 companies leaving California
http://jan.ocregister.com/2010/02/24/list-names-100-companies-leaving-california/31805/

[IassaFTots]

Ok tell any lie you need to keep the Okie California perverts out.

Ah'm jus sayin is all......

[Texacon]

Tansy_Gold   (1000+ posts)             Mon Nov-01-10 11:51 AM
Response to Original message
1. I guess maybe Californians wanted to protect their environment
   
Edited on Mon Nov-01-10 11:52 AM by Tansy_Gold
or their workers' safety or make sure they get paid a living wage. You know, stuff like that. Maybe there isn't a whole lot of that in Mississippi or Alabama. . . . or Texas.

Of course, they don't have the skilled work force or the access to technology either, do they.

I guess you get what you pay for.
TG, NTY

PS I was gonna alert on this post for accusing the whole state of California for being insane, but I decided maybe it would spark an interesting discussion instead.

Yeah, cause that whole 'Bash the South' thing is what you SHOULD be doing .... Leave California ALONE!

Hypocrite.

KC

[zeitgeist]

Yeah, cause that whole 'Bash the South' thing is what you SHOULD be doing .... Leave California ALONE!

Hypocrite.

KC

Then we can bash the banksters ( code word for Jews )

Heck they are even making Massachusetts look good.

Israeli Innovation Contributes $2.4 Billion To The Massachusetts Economy According To New Study
Independent study highlights Israeli economic impact on Massachusetts



 
WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- A groundbreaking study released today at the New England-Israel Business Council’s 2010 Life Sciences Summit at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts revealed the scope and impact of Israeli related businesses on the Massachusetts economy.



The new study, “The Massachusetts-Israel Economic Relationship,” conducted by Stax Inc., an independent global strategy consulting firm, shows the impact of Israeli innovation and entrepreneurship on the Commonwealth’s economy, and underscores the importance of Israeli relations to the state, especially in the area of life sciences and high-tech.

{snip}


“Massachusetts is a natural fit for Israeli businesses looking to expand, due to the our common focus on life sciences, IT, and clean technology,” said Yair Shiran, Israel’s Economic Minister to North America. "Israel has been called the ‘Start-Up Nation’ for its success in new business innovation. When Israeli entrepreneurs look to globalize, they seek out places where there is an abundant workforce with higher education degrees, strong industry clusters, and a track record of new technologies becoming successful businesses.”

There you have it, Kali-phony-a is not the only place to be any more.   Has Massachusetts hit bottom and begun a rebound? 

[true_blood]

Israeli Innovation Contributes $2.4 Billion To The Massachusetts Economy  According To New Study
Independent study highlights Israeli economic impact on Massachusetts
WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- A groundbreaking study released today at the New England-Israel Business Council’s 2010 Life Sciences Summit at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts revealed the scope and impact of Israeli related businesses on the Massachusetts economy.

Great! MA unemployment rate should go down then, right?! 
"A ground-breaking study"?!

[zeitgeist]

Great! MA unemployment rate should go down then, right?! 
"A ground-breaking study"?!

Yeah, yeah, I know, considering the "big dig" ( the original budget buster in ground breaking activity )  it is small change, but, a billion or two here and there and well you might get somewhere. 

BTW:  I forgot to post a link for that article which is here>  http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Israeli-Innovation-bw-3491530257.html?x=0

My whole point was you are in tough shape when even Taxachusetts has an edge on you. Business has been leaving there in droves for years.  And I do believe they still lead the nation in job and population loss. 

[true_blood]

Yeah, yeah, I know, considering the "big dig" ( the original budget buster in ground breaking activity )  it is small change, but, a billion or two here and there and well you might get somewhere. 

BTW:  I forgot to post a link for that article which is here>  http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Israeli-Innovation-bw-3491530257.html?x=0

My whole point was you are in tough shape when even Taxachusetts has an edge on you. Business has been leaving there in droves for years.  And I do believe they still lead the nation in job and population loss. 

I know, I live in MA!

[NHSparky]

Tansy_Gold   (1000+ posts)             Mon Nov-01-10 11:51 AM
Response to Original message
1. I guess maybe Californians wanted to protect their environment
   
Edited on Mon Nov-01-10 11:52 AM by Tansy_Gold
or their workers' safety or make sure they get paid a living wage. You know, stuff like that. Maybe there isn't a whole lot of that in Mississippi or Alabama. . . . or Texas.

Of course, they don't have the skilled work force or the access to technology either, do they.

I guess you get what you pay for.
TG, NTY

PS I was gonna alert on this post for accusing the whole state of California for being insane, but I decided maybe it would spark an interesting discussion instead.

Which environment might that be, tansy?  The one where LA is regularly the most polluted city in the nation?  Ever seen the beaches after a storm?  Or the bacteria warnings?

BTW, DUmmies--if you tax companies to the point where they can't function, they leave, typically taking those high skilled workers with them, making it a double-hit to the economy. 

Just ask those folks up in Washington, watching Boeing move to Texas.  Texas Instruments--aren't they high-tech?  Don't they require "smrat" people to work there too?  And where is it that I keep hearing them talk about NASA, oh, where was that--oh yeah--HOUSTON!  And Alabama?  Hmmmm...seems that I nearly got a job with TVA at Brown's Ferry.  What was that town out there, Huntsville, was it?  Something about a whole shitload MORE high-tech and NASA types out there?  Marshall Space Flight Center, Redstone Arsenal, those just kinda seem to stick in my head for some reason...

What a bunch of ****tards.

[IassaFTots]

Which environment might that be, tansy?  The one where LA is regularly the most polluted city in the nation?  Ever seen the beaches after a storm?  Or the bacteria warnings?

BTW, DUmmies--if you tax companies to the point where they can't function, they leave, typically taking those high skilled workers with them, making it a double-hit to the economy.  

Just ask those folks up in Washington, watching Boeing move to Texas.  Texas Instruments--aren't they high-tech?  Don't they require "smrat" people to work there too?  And where is it that I keep hearing them talk about NASA, oh, where was that--oh yeah--HOUSTON!  And Alabama?  Hmmmm...seems that I nearly got a job with TVA at Brown's Ferry.  What was that town out there, Huntsville, was it?  Something about a whole shitload MORE high-tech and NASA types out there?  Marshall Space Flight Center, Redstone Arsenal, those just kinda seem to stick in my head for some reason...

What a bunch of ****tards.

Jaysus.     You are welcome here, there anywhere, because we like you.  But, series......icksnay on the whole south of the Mason Dixon mart-say....K?????  We really don't need anymore. 

[jukin]

Oh My!!!111!!!eleventy

Business leaving California in record numbers – a message to CARB and AB 32 implementation from SCLC
http://californiabusiness.wordpress.com/2010/10/28/business-leaving-california-in-record-numbers-a-message-to-carb-and-ab-32-implementation-from-sclc/

Or

List names 100 companies leaving California
http://jan.ocregister.com/2010/02/24/list-names-100-companies-leaving-california/31805/

It goes on and on, even Google returns this on the first page under "California business fleeing."

[true_blood]

And the libs/progressives still live in denial. ??? ???