High costs, a flood of regulations and extraordinary taxes. Add to that some social ideologies that go well into extremism, like coaching kids to try to “change” genders and then hide that from their parents.
Those factors all add up to a lot of companies deciding to quit California.
They are leaving for places like Florida and Texas where conservatism plays a bigger role and there are no state income taxes.
Companies that already have taken such actions include Chevron, Elon Musk’s corporate empire, where officials cited the state’s extreme leftist social agenda, and Charles Schwab.
Others on the move have included Hewlett Packard Enterprise, D-Wave Quantum Inc., Palantir, Yamaha and Neutrogena.
Estimates are that there have been as many as 2,000 or so companies that have left the state in recent years.
Now a report at the Washington Examiner reveals Paramount might be relocating – at a cost to the state estimated at between $10 billion and $20 billion.
“The significant economic losses would only come if Paramount doesn’t come to a negotiated settlement with California and 11 other states by Oct. 1. The coalition of Democratic state attorneys general is suing to block Paramount’s proposed merger with Warner Bros. Discovery. The antitrust lawsuit is the only obstacle the two studios need to surmount to close the $111 billion deal,” the report said.
It explained if there’s not settlement, Paramount is expected to follow through on a promise to leave California for a more business friendly location, and it has considered Texas, Georgia, and Tennessee.
Paramount commissioned the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation’s Institute for Applied Economics to draw conclusions, and while the report officially hasn’t been published, Politico obtained a copy and found Paramount’s departure could cost California a permanent loss of roughly 28,990 to 57,980 full-time jobs.
The report said, “On the flip side, Paramount’s commitment to releasing 30 theatrical movies a year for three years after completing the merger would generate between $377.7 million and $1.01 billion in economic output for California over the next five years. It would also generate between 1,020 and 2,760 job-years across all industries statewide.”
A trial date now is set for March 2027 and Democrat California Attorney General Rob Bonta has canceled talks and accused officials of leaking details.
The report includes, “Paramount’s departure from the motion picture capital of the world would carry symbolic weight at a time when California’s creative economy is still reeling from 2023’s dual strikes. … More importantly, the eventual conversion of its soundstages to commercial or residential use would permanently strip California of production infrastructure that took a century to build and that supports the vendors, crews, and post-production facilities surrounding it.”
