CEO's rank California dead last

California is killing the manufacturing industry according to a survey among CEO's.

http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article.aspx?id=532309

Asked to rank states by business climate, CEOs put California dead last. Texas was No. 1.

• "Texas is pro-business with reasonable regulations while California is anti-business with anti-business regulations."

• "California is terrible. Even when we've paid their high taxes in full, they still treat every conversation as adversarial. It's the most difficult state in the nation. We have actually walked away from business rather than deal with the government in Sacramento."

• "The leadership of California has done everything in its power to kill manufacturing jobs in this state. If we could grow our crops in Reno, we'd move our plants tomorrow."

• "State politics seem consumed with how to divide a shrinking pie rather than how to expand it."

• "Union density is increasing, contrary to national trend, from 16.1% of workers in 1998 to 17.8% in 2002."

• "Unfunded pension and health care liabilities for state workers top $500 billion and the annual pension contribution has climbed from $320 million to $7.3 billion in less than a decade."

California's long-term job losses are downright ugly. Since 2001, while politicians dither and spend, 634,000 factory jobs have disappeared along with 34% of the industrial base. From 2003 to 2007 alone, according to the Milken report, 79,000 jobs were lost due to excessive regulation and too-high taxes.

But if California's private companies are suffering, its public sector sure isn't. From 2001 to 2009, California lost 235,000 net private-sector jobs, but gained 163,700 government jobs. Those cushy union jobs also pay more than comparable private jobs and provide gold-plated benefits. Now Californians find they actually have to pay for this foolishness.