The Golden State has been the beacon of “wokeness” for a number of years now. As their corporate conditions worsened with every new wave of leadership, many businesses have relocated to more tax-favorable areas.
In fact, even Tesla CEO Elon Musk claims California is riddled with overregulation, litigation, and over-taxation. Musk stated that as the reason for his relocation of Tesla’s headquarters from Silicon Valley to Austin, TX.
Governor Newsom invited Republican state businesses to the Golden State
However, the Roe v. Wade overturn sent a ripple through business circles.
Democrats know a good opportunity when they see one. California’s Governor Gavin Newsom says some of these businesses should reconsider setting up shop in the state again, as full reproductive care hasn’t yet been outlawed in California.
In fact, liberals went as far as reorganizing next year’s state budget in a manner to allow business incentives for companies coming from states where LGBTQ folks and pregnant women are “discriminated against.”
Abortion is legal in California.
It will remain that way.
I just signed a bill that makes our state a safe haven for women across the nation.
We will not cooperate with any states that attempt to prosecute women or doctors for receiving or providing reproductive care.
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) June 24, 2022
Newsom added that California will be welcoming all businesses back.
Illinois, Connecticut, and New Jersey’s governors followed suit, claiming their own social justice programs and liberal policies are reason enough to grow a business there.
Unfortunately, there’s a lot more to starting a business than just the option to have an abortion. Beacon Economics founder Christopher Thornberg believes it to be an extremely trivial part of the conversation.
An act of desperation
Despite being publicly ridiculed by a number of professional economists and analysts, blue states are still pressing on, albeit this isn’t exactly news.
Connecticut and Illinois jumped on this bandwagon back in 2021 when Texas enforced a ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.
Hell of a thing. Not to mention during pride month.
Hey, corporate America — where are your values? Stand up to these hateful states and come to California. https://t.co/ci12F66Dlj
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) June 28, 2022
At the time, officials from blue states did everything in their power to sell Texas companies on the idea that having access to abortions is crucial to running a successful business, with little to no success.
Outside of this being a chance at bringing revenue and development to their states, Democratic officials also see this as an opportunity to fire back at their Republican rivals who offered a better business climate during the pandemic.
However, as it turns out, companies are actually willing to pay employees’ travel costs related to abortions if red states don’t allow it. This puts into perspective exactly how terrible the tax system is in blue states.
The gas tax is rising next week thanks to the California Democrats.
— Steve Hilton’s Rebel Base (@CARebelBase) June 30, 2022
Among those companies were Starbucks, Tesla, Yelp, Airbnb, Netflix, and Lyft, with the latter’s CEO, Logan Green, announcing they’ll be covering legal fees for rideshare drivers who might get sued for transporting an abortion patient.
On the other hand, Republican-led states are looking for ways to exile businesses that pay for abortions in states where it’s still legal.
Texas Rep. Briscoe Cain publicly asked Elon Musk on Twitter to bring an end to the practice, albeit with no response from the eccentric CEO.
