Going Galt? '69 more firms move jobs, facilities out of California'

Well, speaking of "Atlas Shrugged," here's the latest from California's wrecker economy, at Orange County Register:

So far this year, 69 companies have moved all or part of their California work and jobs to other states or countries, reports Irvine relocation consultant Joe Vranich. It's the fastest rate of departures since Vranich started tracking the exodus in 2009, he says. There have been an average of 4.7 moves per week from Jan. 1 through April 12, compared to 3.9 moves in all of 2010. The numbers are low, Vranich says, estimating that only one in five out-of-state moves is made public. In what he calls "disinvestment events," Vranich counts companies that move jobs, facilities or headquarters out of California. He doesn't count companies that invest outside the state for growth or marketing reasons. Among the 69 are some big names: CKE Restaurants, which started in Orange County and now is based in Carpinteria; Dunn-Edwards paints in Vernon; and eBay Inc. in San Jose which will add 1,000 high-paying jobs in Austin, Tex. after receiving government incentives to locate there.

CKE is Carl Karcher Enterprises, the parent company of Carl's. Jr. But check the link to see the list of O.C.-based firms fleeing the state's inhospitable business climate. And here's the list of reasons:

Why do these and the other companies move out of California? Vranich has updated his top 10 reasons that California companies call the moving van. Number 10 is new: Energy costs soaring because of new laws and regulations. Commercial electrical rates are already 50% higher than the rest of the country, Vranich says, and Gov. Jerry Brown just signed a new law increasing the amount of power utilities must buy from renewable sources plus regulations for the California Global Warming Solutions Act will start soon.

Number 10 is new: Energy costs soaring because of new laws and regulations. Commercial electrical rates are already 50% higher than the rest of the country, Vranich says, and Gov. Jerry Brown just signed a new law increasing the amount of power utilities must buy from renewable sources plus regulations for the California Global Warming Solutions Act will start soon.

The other reasons, Vranich says, are:

9. High and unfair tax treatment
8. Regulatory burden
7. Unfriendly legal environment for business
6. Most expensive place to do business
5. Provable savings elsewhere
4. Public policies and taxes create unfriendly business climate
3. Uncontrollable public spending
2. More adversarial toward business than any other state
1. Poor rankings for California on lists ranging from taxes to crime rates to school dropout rates.

Still more at O.C. Register.

ADDED: Linked at Director Blue and Libertarian Republican.

Also, at Ace of Spades Headlines and Ed Driscoll, "California: ‘More Adversarial Toward Business than Any Other State’."