Some Valley down side...

I'm not posting this to bash the Valley (or California) but sometimes the rest of us are made to feel a bit "location inadequate" for our web start-up. This post by Nolan Bushnell speaks to the dark side of California's business regulations and why it's not the same place to start a company today that it once was. It's worth a read and will probably make you appreciate your home state a little more.

In addition to his commentary on California, the following excerpt deserves special attention:

It is often said that as goes California, so goes the nation. The passage of Sarbanes-Oxley--which has not brought to justice any new bad guys, but has cost American business billions of dollars and kept many of them from going public in the U.S.--is a sign to me that California-style regulation may be taking root at the federal level. When the laws governing business become nothing more than wasteful harassment, and companies are punished simply for doing business, everyone becomes poorer. Government, whether at the local, state, or federal level, must provide the framework for the best life for its people.

California has many great features but few entrepreneurs put the state's business code and tax structure on the list. We must all be on the lookout for what Busnell calls "California-style regulation" at the local, state and federal levels. We must do our part to keep America pro-business.

For what it's worth, if anyone is looking for a new place to call home, we'd love to have you in sunny South Carolina.