Armen Kurdian
Under Gavin Newsom’s watch, California has the nation’s highest unemployment rate and ranks low on the list of places to start or expand a business. Well-publicized has been the flight of hundreds and hundreds of corporate headquarters out of the state of California due to the state’s tax treatment of business. According to The Tax Foundation, California is 48th out of 50th for tax competitiveness. However, what is even worse is the loss of manufacturing jobs, including entry-level and advanced manufacturing, and thousands of working Californians, both union and non-union, are finding themselves out of work.
Spreckels Sugar Company, PepsiCo/Frito-Lay, Blue Diamond, and Pactiv Evergreen are just some of the companies closing up shop or moving manufacturing out of the state due to the state’s business climate. Valero and Phillips 66 are shuttering two refineries, laying off over 1,300 people. California has roughly 430,000 regulations on the books, over three times the national average. We are far beyond the ability of simple tax credits and the local and state level to entice new businesses to establish themselves, because business owners know that ultimately those taxes and burdensome regulations make operations in California much less profitable than in other states.
Tens of thousands of families have found their means of income vanish as these facilities and other small businesses have disappeared over the last eight years. Compliance requirements, environmental regulations, and the cost of health care have all contributed to these job losses. To make things worse, a very job-unfriendly state legislature adds to the pain being felt by working families…some of whom are no longer able to find work.
Small businesses face disproportionate costs of up to $50,000 to maintain compliance, several times more than in other states. Another recent law added $1M in costs to comply with ridiculously strict environmental rules, which go way beyond what is necessary to keep our state clean.
When I am elected, I will sponsor legislation to cut back these regulations, reduce the cost to hire and maintain workers at all levels, and work with both labor organizations and our local chambers of commerce to reduce the absurd cost of doing business in our state. It’s time to stop brutalizing working families through Sacramento’s feckless leadership and make it easier for them to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads.
