Why New York and California’s Business Owners Are Fleeing — and Where They’re Going Instead
Written by
Chris Adam
Edited by
T. Woods
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Why are business owners leaving states like New York and California to seek friendlier environments? Kevin O’Leary, an investor who’s well known for his role on “Shark Tank,” has a great deal to say about the issue.
“Loser States”
After the ruling in the fraud case against Donald Trump in New York, O’Leary told Fox Business that he will never invest in the “loser state” again. According to O’Leary, “There are many loser states because of policy, high taxes, uncompetitive regulation…”
Other investors and entrepreneurs have voiced similar concerns about the business environments in New York and California. Some have added that high housing costs have also forced them to seek more affordable states for their employees to live. In addition, according to Fox Business, employers want to leave California because of “woke” public school systems and higher crime rates.
According to Bloomberg, “Both states have in the past three years lost firms that managed close to $1 trillion of assets, Bloomberg News calculated after going through corporate filings from more than 17,000 firms since the end of 2019.”
Many Factors
Many of the companies and organizations leaving New York and California are going to states with friendlier business climates. Those include Florida, Texas and Tennessee.
These states typically have much lower housing prices. Plus, the nicer weather and lower taxes are big draws for businesses.
O’Leary mentioned uncompetitive regulations in places like New York and California are driving away businesses. His comments come as plenty of CEOs and entrepreneurs in both states have been critical of state and local governments imposing stricter regulations on how and where they do business.
Looking Elsewhere
O’Leary said another big concern — in addition to business owners fleeing — is that new companies are not looking at New York and California for future investments. He said investors behind data centers, which are helping drive new technology products, are bypassing those states because of unfair regulations, high taxes and state leaders who are not friendly to businesses.
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