How Bad are Things in California for Business?

Here are the words of Austin Beutner, first deputy mayor of Los Angeles and CEO of the city's Office of Economic and Business Policy, and general manager of the Department of Water and Power:

Not only did Chief Executive magazine recently rank California as America's worst state for business, but the publication called us "the Venezuela of North America."

In other words, the Golden State, with its world-class economy, is no better than a dictatorship that can't keep its lights on.

Fighting words? You bet. But sometimes a slap across the face can also serve as a wake-up call. After losing more than 111,000 jobs in the Southland this past year and seeing marquee corporate names head elsewhere, we have to develop smarter ways to retain businesses and attract new investment.