Economy: September 2007 Archives

MarketWatch has surveyed 50 major American cities, and come up with two Top 10 lists --- most business friendly, and least. Los Angeles, as you might have guessed, made the anti-business list. Here's MarketWatch's description of our fair town, complete with a great quote from Jack Kyser that I've put in bold for everyone's enjoyment:

45. Los Angeles, 137 points: You might say that Los Angeles is hampered because of its sheer size, with more than 17 million residents in the greater L.A. area. But hey, New York made the top 10, and it's even bigger.

Even after more than a decade and a half, the City of Angels has yet to fully recover from the end of the Cold War. Los Angeles seems to have never gotten over losing thousands of high-paying aerospace jobs, which either disappeared or moved to other states because business restrictions were too onerous.

Jack Kyser, chief economist with the Los Angeles County Economic Development Department, puts the blame squarely on the shoulders of another city in the Bottom 10: Sacramento -- more specifically, its state lawmakers. Kyser says state officials have been openly hostile to business, and business leaders are returning the favor.

"One of the best things that could happen to L.A. County is if Sacramento would disappear," Kyser said.

Kyser did say, though, that the region's tourism is flourishing, and its international trade industry is growing rapidly. Of course, there's always the film industry, but only one company in that space, Walt Disney Co. is based locally. Plus, filmmakers are heading to cheaper regions to complete their films.