The Economy of California vs. the Other States

Here is a depressing comparison of California taxes and economic climate with the rest of the states (version 1.37 of my report). The news is breaking bad, and getting worse:

California has the 2nd highest state income tax in the nation: 9.55% at $48,000 income, 10.55% at $1,000,000 income.

California has by-far the highest state sales tax in the nation, 8.25% (not counting local sales taxes).

California has the highest state car tax in the nation, at least double any other state: 1.15% per year on value of vehicle.

California corporate income tax rate is the highest in the West: 8.84%

California's 2009 Business Tax Climate ranks 48th in the nation.
www.taxfoundation.org/research/topic/15.html

California has the fourth-highest capital gains tax: 9.55%
http://www.thereibrain.com/realestate-blog/capital-gains-tax-rates-state...

California has the third-highest gas and diesel tax in the nation at $2.00/gallon. At $3.00 a gallon, California is numero uno.
www.api.org/statistics/fueltaxes/

California has the fourth-highest unemployment rate in the nation as of March, 2009: 11.2%
www.bls.gov/news.release/laus.nr0.htm

California’s 2009 "Tax Freedom Day" (the day the average taxpayer stops working for government and start working for oneself) is again the fourth-worst date in the nation, up from 28th worst in 1994.
http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/show/387.html

One in 5 in Los Angeles County are receiving public aid.
www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-welfare22-2009feb22,0,4377048.story

California prison guards are the highest-paid in the nation.
www.caltax.org/caltaxletter/2008/101708_fraud1.htm

California teachers are easily the highest-paid in the nation.
http://www.nea.org/home/29402.htm

California has the lowest bond ratings of any state, edging out Louisiana.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/19/BA7F16JLKH.DTL

For every dollar in taxes Californians send to Washington, D.C., California got back 78 cents -– 43rd worst (in 2005, latest figures).
http://www.taxfoundation.org/taxdata/show/22685.html

America;s top CEO's rank California "the worst place in which to do business" for the fourth straight year (3/2009). But here's the interesting part: They think California is a great state to live in (primarily for the great climate), they just won't bring their businesses here because of the oppressive tax and regulatory climate.

Consider this quote from the survey (a conclusion reflected in the rankings of the characteristics of the state): "California has huge advantages with its size, quality of work force, particularly in high-tech, as well as the quality of life and climate advantages of the state. However, it is an absolute regulatory and tax disaster."
http://tinyurl.com/cyvufy

California has 12.1% of the nation's population, but California had 20.9% of the newly-unemployed in February, 2009. That means California's growth in UNemployment was 72.7% above the national average. (California's population is 36,756,666, the USA is 303,824,640)
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/mmls.htm

California residential electricity costs 28.7% more on average than the national average. For industrial use, California electricity is 48.6% higher than the national average (11/08).
http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epm/table5_6_a.html

It costs 38% more to build solar panels in California than in Tennessee, which is why European corporations have invested $2.3 billion in two Tennessee manufacturing plants to build solar panels for our state.
http://www.foxandhoundsdaily.com/blog/jack-stewart/more-solar-companies-...

Consider California's net domestic migration (movement between states). From April, 2000 through June, 2008 (8 years, 2 months) California lost a NET 1.4 million people. The departures slowed this past year only because people couldn't sell their homes.
http://www.mdp.state.md.us/msdc/Pop_estimate/Estimate_08/table5.pdf

The people leaving California are not welfare kings and queens. They are the young, the educated, the productive, the ambitious, the wealthy (such as Tiger Woods), and retirees seeking to make their pensions provide more bang for the buck. The irony is that a disproportionate number of the departing seniors are retired state and local government employees fleeing the state that provides them with their opulent pensions -- to avoid the high taxes that these same employees pushed so hard through their unions.

As taxes rise and jobs disappear, California loses its tax base, continuing the state and local fiscal death spiral. This spiral must stop NOW.