Why both Nissan and Toyota left the no-longer Golden State.

I’ll bet if South California happens, they’d consider returning there.

In fact, that brings up a point that a lot of people miss when analyzing what the new states’ politics would be. They do so (as far as I know) by analyzing the current population of each region. But as I’ve said, if it really happened, I’d pull up stakes in LA County and head to Orange County. I’ll bet a lot of other people would as well. Which means that whatever sensible voters are currently in what would be West California would likely abandon it, making it even more socialist, and accelerating its fiscal collapse.

[Update a few minutes later]

I hadn’t read the whole piece when I posted the above, but this is an interesting point, in terms of why Nissan and Toyota were there in the first place:

As did the oil industry, the auto industry, and, particularly, its Asian contingent, came to Southern California for good reasons. Some had to do with proximity to the largest port complex in North America, as well as the cultural comfort associated with the large Asian communities here. Back in the 1980s, the expansion of firms like Honda, Toyota and Nissan seemed to epitomize the unique appeal of the L.A. region – and California – to Asian companies. Today, only Honda retains its headquarters in Los Angeles (Nissan left in 2005), while Korean carmakers Hyundai and Kia make their U.S. homes in Orange County.

First, note that the Koreans wouldn’t have to move — they’d already be in the new state. Also, the port is just a few miles north of the Orange County line. That is, just a few miles north of the new state line. So it would make a world of sense for the Japanese companies to move back to South California, and for Honda to head a few miles south. Particularly if the new state had no state income tax…