California: the collapse continues

Business Week reports that California is losing businesses at a record rate:

There were 1.3 million businesses in California at the end of 2012, 5.2 percent fewer than in the previous year (that’s about 73,000 fewer). To put that in perspective, Massachusetts lost 5,200 businesses, the second-highest amount, and Kansas had 3.1 percent fewer businesses in 2012 than in 2011, the second-highest loss rate.

Breitbart notes that this might be because " California’s tax burden is the fourth highest in the nation, barely behind New York, New Jersey and Connecticut" Newly added to the tax burden is an increase in gasoline taxes.  At 71.9 cents per gallon, California has the highest gas tax in the nation.

California has set other records.  Forbes reports (Hat tip: PowerLine) that, among US states, California has :

• Highest taxes (gasoline, sales and top bracket of income taxes)
• Lowest bond rating
• Highest poverty rate (at 23.5%, the home of 1/3 of those in poverty in U.S.)
• Highest unemployment rate (tied with Mississippi and Nevada at 9.6%)
• Highest energy costs
• Worst state to do business (as judged by Chief Executive magazine 8 years running)
• Most cities going bankrupt
• Prison system so poorly run it has been taken over by a federal judge

Even Mexico has a lower unemployment rate than California.

How did California get this bad?  Both Houses of the legislature have been controlled by Democrats for all but two of the last 40 years.

California is like Detroit but with better weather.