Happy Mittwoch, True Believers!

An interesting bit on the ongoing disintegration of the Golden State from Reason:  Toyota Says Sayonara (Sort Of) to the Golden State.  Excerpt:

Texas Gov. Rick Perry is probably looking a bit smugger than usual, if that’s at all possible. In the latest commerce-war news between Texas and California—a battle which California appears to be losing badly—Toyota has announced it’s moving its headquarters from the Golden State to the Lone Star State.

As a result, 3,000 jobs will be transferred (from) California to Texas. Not everybody will be going, though. According to the Associated Press, 2,300 jobs will remain in California after the move. But before we mock high-tax, high-regulation California for getting another kick in the moneybasket, let’s see how Perry lured Toyota there:

Perry, who made two visits to California to lure employers to his state, said Texas offered Toyota $40 million in incentives from the taxpayer-funded Texas Enterprise Fund. The Republican governor said Toyota is expected to invest $300 million in the new headquarters.

Some folks would call what Governor Perry is doing corporate welfare – Mr. Perry probably calls it canny politics.  Both sides would have a legitimate point.   But what does Toyota think?

Toyota, obviously, thinks there are good reasons for relocating a portion of their American enterprise to Texas.  They aren’t alone.  Texas has a reputation for being as friendly to business as California is hostile.  We have no way of knowing if Toyota may have made the move if Texas hadn’t sweetened the pot, but Texas did, and Toyota did – and there we are.

The fact is, all of the several states engage in similar acts of bribery enticement when major corporations are considering a move.  It’s just that Texas, for a variety of reasons, seems to be more successful than most other states of late.  True Believers everywhere are invited to investigate and contemplate the possible reasons for themselves.