Carl's Jr wants to move its Headquarters (Berkeley, Mountain View: fit in, apartment)

[JohnG72]

Originally Posted by silverkris

It may be a lack of suitable sites for expansion or development, which sounds plasible given that the City of LA is pretty heavily built up.

Yeah, that might make sense assuming one has an overwhelming sense of tunnel vision and chooses to ignore:

1.) Fast food and restaurants open constantly in City of LA.

2.) The actual owner of the business verbally expressed dismay at the difficulty and cost of doing business within the City of LA.

It constantly annoys me that people make an argument that requires them to utterly ignore mitigating factors.

[Chelito23]

I say good riddance and here is why. CJ made a whopping BILLION dollar profit and they are itching and moaning about having to pay taxes. Whaaah whaaaah whaaah. It isn't like they are a mom and pop business being overwhelmed, they raked in a BILLION dollars and are so caught up in greed while trying to give as little as possible back to a state that helped them become what they are.

This also comes down to a ploy for expansion. They want a major prescence in Texas, a market where fast food is still very in and growing when compared to Cali. Here there isn't so much growth in that area. On top of that, they know they can probably get a sweetheart tax deal and exemptions when they start whining about "having" to relocate to Texas for lower taxes. They are probably dropping state names everywhere just to get a war going to see who offers them the best deal.

It's funny, at the same time CJ is "overwhlemed" by Calicomplicated's laws and taxes, Chick-Fil-A is going ahead with expansion plans here, San Diego based Jack in the Box isn't crying about anything either...so if a company wants to be greedy and avoid putting as little back into the community they started in as possible, we don't need that. They are precisely the reason Cali has strict overtime laws, because obviosuly they would never treat their employees as they should if it wasn't for the law, which is part of their complaint. So let them go to Texas or Oklahoma or the boondocks and be some other state's problem. Then they can pick up and move again when the neighboring state offers tax incentives for a new building farther down the road.

As a side note, it is normal for businesses to cut overhead, cut costs, etc. California isn't the right fit for a lot of corporations, agreed. But there are others that need to be here for logistics, demographics, cultural, geographical, social and other reasons. So just because some companies want to maximize their profits doesn't mean California is broken. There is no mass exodus. Some come, some go, others start up, others move in. It is the time of globalization. And when CJ pulls out, we will have to do our share in staying competitive for the companies that we need to stay here and to help new ones start up or relocate here as well. It's a two way street.

[yeahthatguy]

Originally Posted by .highnlite

A bit defensive? Don't bother explaining how tough your life was, nobody really cares.

Have you read it? That book, is very Buddhist in outlook, you can dismiss it as a book written for 'age groups under 10" but generally profound truths are simple enough for a child to understand. I tend to agree with it, the only jobs fit for men are jobs where, when it rains, you get wet. When the sun shines, you sweat, where you take a shower after work, not before work.

You are young, you still have time to be a man, but you need to get out of your cubicle.



While I am at it, are you a Veteran?
Did you serve your country?

You ask me targeted questions. Made targeted remarks.. So, I provided information to give you some 'perspective' and namely to disprove the remarks you are making about me ... 'some wealthy silver spoon treated kid who has everything in the world and a chip on his shoulder'. I am proud of my tough upbringing. It has motivated me and made me who I am.

During highschool for 4 years I ran a lawn business in FL. I laid tile, dug septic tanks, laid grass, cut down trees ... Trust me, my hands have seen labor and I am surely not asking for pity, least of all yours.. So, yeah.. I've been outside a cubicle for most of my life laboring .... You have already made a judgement call on me and there's nothing I can do to change it. That is pretty clear in your posts.

As for serving my country .... Yeah, I get up every day and bust my arse as opposed to asking for handouts .. I dont believe in something because some monkey tells me and, instead of having my head in the clouds, I choose to be engaged in matters that impact not only Americans but people all over the world.

Ask me do i believe in 1/2 the b.s wars our country is engaged in (currently) : No . So, did I serve to perpetuate violence and empire building? : no.
Do I instead try to do something constructive and for the betterment of people : Yes.
So, in effect, did I serve my country's beliefs : yes .
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/26/op...YCd8c652iYd09A
"Arthur Miller, echoing the poet Archibald MacLeish, liked to say that the essence of America was its promises. That was a long time ago. Limitless greed, unrestrained corporate power and a ferocious addiction to foreign oil have led us to an era of perpetual war and economic decline. Young people today are staring at a future in which they will be less well off than their elders, a reversal of fortune that should send a shudder through everyone.

The U.S. has not just misplaced its priorities. When the most powerful country ever to inhabit the earth finds it so easy to plunge into the horror of warfare but almost impossible to find adequate work for its people or to properly educate its young, it has lost its way entirely."


I will try to stray from answering your remarks in the future. Your mind is made up about me and that's just fine. However, for the sake of having good debates/discussion, can you focus more on the topics/facts/data and stating what you agree w/ .. disagree w/ and why and provide supporting facts/data.

[user_id]

Originally Posted by yeahthatguy

Have a quick question... Here's a simple situation, Say someone makes : $90k
in equity markets a year trading and $40k (net) in rental income. May you define how that person would be taxed in California vs. Texas. Thanks ..

There isn't enough information to determine the difference in taxation. As my examples earlier show, the main way Texas gets you is with property tax. If you have a LLC you'll also be subject to business franchise tax (though, if you are really small I think you are exempt).

In California an individual making $130k would pay around 6% in income tax.

Personally, I don't like income taxes, I'd much prefer if California got rid of prop 13 and increased its property tax 2-3 times and got rid of its income tax and lowered its corporate tax.

[NorCal Dude]

There is no mass exodus.

The Business Relocation Coach: Part I: Record in 2010 for Calif. Companies Departing or Diverting Capital: 204 Four Times Last Year's Level

[.highnlite]

204; OMG, out of 2.700,000. The sky is falling!

Heck there are 7,994 companies in Thousand Oaks alone....

[yeahthatguy]

Originally Posted by user_id

There isn't enough information to determine the difference in taxation. As my examples earlier show, the main way Texas gets you is with property tax. If you have a LLC you'll also be subject to business franchise tax (though, if you are really small I think you are exempt).

In California an individual making $130k would pay around 6% in income tax.

Personally, I don't like income taxes, I'd much prefer if California got rid of prop 13 and increased its property tax 2-3 times and got rid of its income tax and lowered its corporate tax.

Thank you for answering that user_id. As for Texas' property tax %'ge, sure it is higher than California but home prices are much lower.. So, as an absolute value, you'd most probably pay less or equal the property taxes in TX as you would here. Again, the differential between taxation is significantly higher (for my circumstances) than what tax burden spells out (1-2%). If you take $100k and divide it by 5 people -> $20k/year and then tax those people (per CA's schedule) vs. taxing 1 person who makes $100k a year, you will come out w/ different tax burden values ....

The skew on 'tax burden' is very apparent when understanding this ....

All i was trying to say..
You made good points and are very knowledgeable on the subject. Thank you for your patience, replies, and feedback on the matter.

[user_id]

Originally Posted by .highnlite

204; OMG, out of 2.700,000. The sky is falling!

Heck there are 7,994 companies in Thousand Oaks alone....

You stating this, but the total number of companies isn't very telling. Most of these are bored wifes, etc working out of their spare bedroom.

Regardless, established businesses leaving California is nothing new. Once you've gained sufficient critical mass you can often relocate to a cheaper area. It would be interesting to see a more balanced study, obviously a business relocation consultant isn't the best place to look for unbiased information.

[user_id]

Originally Posted by yeahthatguy

Thank you for answering that user_id. As for Texas' property tax %'ge, sure it is higher than California but home prices are much lower..

But they aren't "much lower" if you compare apples to apples. In fact, some areas of California are very cheap right now. You can't compare a house in the bay area (start-up Capital of the US) to a house in a Dallas suburb.

There are a few suburb areas outside of Dallas, Austin and Houston that provide good value right now, but these are the minority and its unlikely to last. The San Fernando Valley use to be like that in the past as well, tons of affordable houses, great access to jobs, etc. Today its totally different.

I don't blame some people for moving to these areas, a middle-class family with kids can find great value in these communities. They are going to be much less valuable to others though, for example entrepreneurs.

[yeahthatguy]

Originally Posted by user_id

But they aren't "much lower" if you compare apples to apples. In fact, some areas of California are very cheap right now. You can't compare a house in the bay area (start-up Capital of the US) to a house in a Dallas suburb.

There are a few suburb areas outside of Dallas, Austin and Houston that provide good value right now, but these are the minority and its unlikely to last. The San Fernando Valley use to be like that in the past as well, tons of affordable houses, great access to jobs, etc. Today its totally different.

I don't blame some people for moving to these areas, a middle-class family with kids can find great value in these communities. They are going to be much less valuable to others though, for example entrepreneurs.

I dunno user_id .. Austin sounds good and there are lots of techies/ Entrepreneurship going on there. Google/facebook/Zyanga can't do all the hiring. There is a wealth of hiring going on .. And tons of companies by default have expansions in Austin, RNC, and other cheaper hubs in America. Those techies branch out, create side ventures .. Smaller things sprout up.. Diversity comes (Austin has great diversity) .. all the good things start to come w/ it. It's a good thing .. Great thing for America that there are lower cost hubs blossoming. The sad thing I see in the valley is a small amount of jobs being created and tons of jobs offshored to offset the incredible costs of located here and staffing here. It's better for the larger America that this hit a ceiling and ventures sprout up elsewhere .. California can't continue to have a monopoly on startups/Entrepreneurship . Nor will it... Theres only soo many people you can cram into the bay area and see very well how it is already impacting things. It's the only place I have ever been w/ soo many apartments .. People well into their careers w/ masters degrees making over six figures having to live in college dorm like apartments.... As for more inland places, people commute 1-2 hours .. That's no way to live.

So, I dunno. People should be encouraging expansion out of the bay area. Its saturated and the continued packing of people in here is reducing everyone's quality of life... Many young people I know see this. Sure many Entrepreneurs don't but the majority of them are centered on non-revenue producing social media junk here (the next bubble)....

Your statements are correct in the general case . I'll give you that and never can I deny the beauty and allure of CA.. but that comes at a hefty price now-a-days.. MY generation saddled w/ school debt .. Saddled w/ this recession and other things have come to be more realistic about life, debt, and finances ... Certain things take priority over nature/weather. Afterall, your average person in tech in the bay area doesn't get to enjoy it anyway (10-12) hour days... and M-F you're in an office. I guess its nice to look at while commuting an hour or two from work and on weekends when you're not on-call for build issues/major releases.

*sigh .. So, I think I have to try it out... One thing my generation isn't scared of is moving around .. seeing things for ourselves.

Thanks for sticking w/ the discussion and providing your feedback