Everybody goes ballistic now and then. It’s natural to indulge in a little hyperbole when you’re frustrated and need to let off some steam.
But some stories get exaggerated so often that people start to believe them. And that’s dangerous — because they can get in the way of a more nuanced understanding that is necessary to identify and correct real problems.
A prime example: The notion that California’s companies, workers and jobs are fleeing in droves to other states to escape taxes and regulations.
It’s an appealing notion for anyone who’s had a run-in with the state bureaucracy, paid through the nose for endless permits or had to contend with the state’s truly Kafkaesque HR laws. We love to imagine ourselves giving the Golden State a one-fingered salute as we ride into the sunrise toward a place that welcomes our business. So we want to believe the California exodus story.
One problem. It’s not true.
As a Feb. 1 report by the Sacramento Business Journal demonstrated, there’s no evidence that companies, people or jobs are leaving in significant numbers.
Over the long term, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, California is about average among states in job growth. And while the state suffered disproportionately during the Great Recession and still has high unemployment levels,
the latest figures show it is again adding jobs at both rates and numbers above the national average.
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