If California's a 'bad state for business,' why is it leading the nation in job and GDP growth?
State and federal statistics released as recently as Friday make it clear: California is smoking hot, economy-wise.
The state gained 40,300 jobs in June and 461,000 over the year. With a gain of 2.9%, that was the best 12-month record of any large state except Florida, which won by a nostril with a gain of 3%, and much better than the nation as a whole (1.7%). According to the congressional Joint Economic Committee, California leads the nation in growth in its gross domestic product, which grew by 4.2% in 2015 — more than twice the national rate.
This record raises numerous questions, the most interesting of which is: So what’s all that guff about California being a “business-unfriendly” state?
We ask because grousing from business lobbies about California’s economic climate continues unabated. CNBC, which ranks all states according to “60 measures of competitiveness,” placed California way down at No. 32 in its 2016 rankings this week. In his “Rich States, Poor States” ranking for the conservative, pro-business American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, conservative economist Arthur Laffer places California at a dismal 46th in economic outlook for 2016.
http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-hiltzik-california-econ-growth-20160722-snap-story.html
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