California Companies Flee Business-Hostile State In Droves

California's business environment has gone from bad to worse, with thousands of businesses pulling up stakes and moving elsewhere. But don't take our word for it. Just ask the 1,800 companies that either relocated or "disinvested" in the formerly Golden State in 2016.A new report from business-relocation expert Joe Vranich says that the business climate has gotten so bad that, for the first time ever, he is actively telling clients "to leave the business-hostile state because its business climate continues to worsen."

And, no, he isn't a hypocrite. He's followed his own advice. Earlier this year he relocated his own successful consulting business from Irvine, California to Cranberry Township, Pa., a suburb of Pittsburgh.

Maybe that shouldn't come as a surprise. It's not exactly news that California's legislature is the most left-wing, high-tax and business-unfriendly in the nation. California is a virtual one-party state. Lawmakers and regulators recently even tried to tax cellphone texts, but pushback from voters made them drop the plan just this week.

But it isn't just about the state's ultra-high taxes, says Vranich.