It seems that each day brings news of another major company moving its offices, and often part or all of its operations, out of California, most often to Texas. Examples: Toyota, Oracle, Tesla, Core-Mark, HP Enterprise, Palantir, CBRE, Kubota Tractor, Charles Schwab, Colony Capital and Jamba Juice. Those large companies are part of over 15,000 companies which have left California in the last 12 years. Two recent headlines in the L.A. Times are illustrative: “Another Firm Leaves California” (Colony Capital) and “Fearing Big Tech’s Steady Move Out of California.”
Every company that leaves decreases good paying jobs and creates unemployed workers, reduced tax payments, increased government expenditures for unemployment and social services, empty buildings and decreasing morale. Indeed, more than 1,000,000 people left California in the years 2008-2018. Population has remained level only because of legal and illegal immigration.
Why is California losing out? What happened to the days when California was first in everything, including business? Why would anyone leave the state with the best climate, outdoor activities, beaches and lifestyle? Texas and California are the two most populous states. They represent very different histories and policies. Why is Texas gaining, at California’s expense? Some say Texas regulations are less onerous. Others say that Texas has no income tax, while California’s is among the highest in the U.S. Still others say that housing and living expenses are much higher in California. And still others say that Texas remains a bastion of free enterprise, while California has become a “nanny” state with unsustainable expenses benefitting the poor. One of the premises of this SDG is that it is important for California to consider what should be done to help California retain its businesses and the sources of good paying jobs and restore its luster for residents and potential residents.
While the answers to the above questions may be arguable, what is not arguable is that the loss of decent jobs is resulting in the serious reduction of the middle class and the hollowing out of the tax base to support the obligations which California has undertaken. What will be the results if only the 1% and the poor remain? Although some businesses are moving to states other than Texas, the large number which are going to Texas and the dramatic differences between the two states puts these issues in broad relief.
This SDG is designed to (1) compare the ideologies and approaches of the two states, (2) try to understand why Texas is gaining in attractiveness and California is losing and (3) discuss what steps California could take to restore its attractiveness to business. Fortunately, a book published in 2020 squarely addresses all of these issues. That core book will be “Texas vs. California: A History of Their Struggle for the Future of America” by Kenneth P. Miller. As if written for us, the book has 14 chapters. They are grouped under the following headings: Paths to Polarization, Competing Visions and Possible Futures. There is a very detailed bibliography on all of the book’s subjects, including many cites to on-line articles.
The core book, and our discussions, will explore the histories of both states; their respective economic and political development; their differing approaches to taxation, regulation, environment, labor issues, poverty and social issues; current political trends; and the very difficult questions about what can be done here in California to make it attractive for businesses to start and remain here.
When this SDG if offered, I will coordinate.
1. Sibling Rivals: Quantifying the Results of the Rivalry
2. History of California and Texas
3. Peoples of California and Texas
4. The Development of the Economies of California and Texas
5. The Cultures of California and Texas
6. How Texas Turned Red
7. How California Turned Blue
8. Rival Societal Models
9. Taxation in Texas and in California
10. Labor Laws and Relations in Texas and California
11. Attitudes and Effects of Energy and Environment
12. Dealing with Poverty in Texas and California
13. How Texas and California Deal with Social Issues
14. Current State of the Rivalry and Possible Actions to Be Taken
NOTE: Each of the above 14 weekly topics corresponds to the chapter in the core book with the same number and that chapter will provide the basic reading for that week.
“Texas vs. California: A History of Their Struggle for the Future of America” by Kenneth P. Miller (Core Book)
“California: A History” by Kevin Starr
“Asian and Latino Immigrants in a Restructuring Economy: The Metamorphosis of Southern California”
by Marta Lopez-Garza and David Diaz
“History of Texas” by Captivating History
“The History of Texas” by Robert Calvert
Newspaper and magazine articles and interviews with CEOs of companies which move
out of California frequently appear and are being collected