The Golden State is certainly living up to its name!
However, this time, the Gold Rush is out of this state to more economically friendly environments.
First, fast food giant Carl’s Jr. is moving its headquarters to Nashville, Tennessee!
To hear Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, you’d think that taxes can go up to 60% or even 80%, and businesses and investors will just … pay up. But the growing number of businesses stampeding out of high tax areas suggest that they’re very wrong.We got more evidence of that this week when CKE Restaurants, the corporate parent of Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. restaurants, announced that they are relocating to Nashville, Tennessee.Hardee’s will move its headquarters from St. Louis, Missouri, to Nashville, Tennessee, one of America’s fastest growing states.Oh, and did we mention that the state has no personal income tax?Meanwhile, the Carl’s Jr. move puts more egg on the face of California and the political class in Sacramento. Hamburger fast food chain Carl’s Jr. was founded in California and for years has been headquartered in Carpinteria, California. The highest income tax rate in California is 13%, so moving to Tennessee, where the tax rate is zero, will save the company millions of dollars on taxes a year.
Put Tennessee isn’t the only destination for those heading back east. I often followed Texas Governor Rick Perry on his poaching expeditions through California, trying to entice businesses to relocate to the Lone Star State with promises of low taxes and limited regulations.
It looks like the new governor has collected another trophy for his state.
The “gushing” leader of Pegasus Foods stood beside Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday and announced his company would build an 80,000-square-foot manufacturing facility and create about 300 jobs in Rockwall.“I can’t tell you how excited I am to finally be here in Texas,” said Jim Zaferis, principal of the Los Angeles-based company that supplies food for restaurants such as Chili’s, Panda Express and Cinnabon.Zaferis said he was inviting many of his California-based employees to relocate with the company, saying the quality of life here is much better.“It’s the kind of place where you really want to raise a family,” he said.
The politicians in San Francisco recently put a new spin on the term “Gold Rush”, by installing open-air urinals. Between the economic climate and the social justice priorities, it looks like corporations are not the only entities leaving the state.
- Nonprofit group Next 10 has released a report, authored by Beacon Economics, that found between 2007 and 2014, California lost a net 625,000 residents, largely due to the skyrocketing cost of housing, according to Curbed Los Angeles…
- California has a booming employment market but cannot supply enough affordable housing to accommodate workers of all income levels, according to the report. The founder of Next 10, venture capitalist F. Noel Perry, said the dearth of affordable housing could cause more of the state’s vital workers to relocate, negatively affecting California’s economy.
If they ever update the classic 60’s homage to my home state, it is going to have to be retitled, “California Leavin.'”
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