In another major blow to the California economy, Toyota is moving its headquarters from Torrance to Dallas after 57 years here. The excuse is that it wants to be near its manufacturing plants in the Southeast. That itself is telling. Toyota shut down its last Golden State plant in Fremont in 2009.
The plant now makes Teslas, a car that wouldn’t exist without massive government subsidies and credits. It’s the only car plant left in California. It’as basically a high-tech Trabi.
On the Toyota move, the L.A. Times reported about Occidental Petroleum and other companies fleeing California:
Like these other companies, Toyota could also save money in an environment of lower business taxes, real estate prices and cost of living.
Frank Scotto, Torrance’s mayor, said he had no warning of Toyota’s decision. He said he did know that the automaker planned a corporate announcement for Monday.
“When any major corporation is courted by another state, it’s very difficult to combat that,” Scotto said. “We don’t have the tools we need to keep major corporations here.”
The mayor said businesses bear higher costs in California for workers’ compensation and liability insurance, among other expenses.
And remember, almost all those several thousand Toyota jobs are middle-class jobs on which to raise a family. This is another indication that the middle class just isn’t welcome in California.
To change that, what’s needed, for starters, are: massive tax cuts, massive cuts in government waste, repealing AB 32 and the California Coastal Commission, strong pension reform and reducing the government workers’ unions’ lock-grip on government power.
That is, it’s not going to happen.
(John Seiler is the managing editor of CalWatchdog. Originally published on CalWatchdog.)
Thank you again Democrats party of the people. People better wake up and dump the democratic party in this state. Soon the only jobs here will be govt jobs and no taxpayers to pay them.
One day all the Conservatives will pack up and leave California. The only thing left will be freeloaders and Hollywood!
Until they stop giving new tax breaks to Hollywood, and repeal the tax cuts granted them in the 50’s, they are the deadbeats.
Remember those glory days (I would mark the start as when Henry-I opened his Model-T assy plant in Wilmington across the channel from Terminal Island) when Ford, GM, and Chrysler all had plants in CA (GM had three, Ford two, and Chrysler one?
And now, they’re all gone, and even the North American HQ’s of the Asiatic transplants are slowly moving out to more friendly climes.
Honda: Gone to Ohio.
Nissan: Gone to Tennessee.
Toyota: Gone to Texas.
Subaru: Gone to New Jersey.
Mitsubishi, currently in Cypress….
Mazda, currently in Irvine….
Hyundai/Kia, currently in Irvine but with major centers in MI….
The home of the nation’s Car Culture has become a Hostile Environment for that culture.
I am reminded of that line in “The Hunt for Red October” when Capt. Tupolev has set his torpedo safeties to zero, is bested in a game of chicken by Capt. Ramius, and his XO turns to him in response to the sonar-man screaming “Torpedo’s dead ahead” and says:
“You arrogant ass, you’ve killed us!”
Congratulations Progressives, and Moonbeam, you ARE Tupolev!
Liberal Democrats keep taxing and shafting businesses and soon all that will be left if agricultural jobs for illegals, that pay no taxes and we’ll all be broke! Dumbasses…..
Dear misguided Liberal Democrats, how many more businesses do you need to vacate California before you realize your tax and spend (on illegals) policies do not work or benefit the state?
We have 30% of the country’s illegals and 30% of the country’s welfare recipients….does that sound like a positive plan for the future….or a state in decline?
And I imagine Tesla most likely got a HUGE tax incentive in Toyota’s place. Way to go ‘Moon Beam’.
And the morons in CA still want to re-elect Brown.