AAA is Out of Here

Here are 900 more victims of the lousy business climate in California:

The California State Automobile Association has decided to close its call centers in California, including one in the East Bay, and shift hundreds of jobs to CSAA call centers in other states.

The call centers that will close are located in Livermore, Elk Grove (Sacramento County), and Irvine (Orange County). Together, the three call centers employ about 900 people, according to CSAA, which is also known as AAA Northern California.

The departure of the call centers is tied to what over the last decade has become an economic bogeyman for a number of businesses with major operations in California: the state's chilly business climate.

"It costs more to do business in California than in other states," said Cynthia Harris, a spokeswoman for CSAA. "Moving our call center operations to states outside of California gives us an opportunity to reduce our operating costs."

The Democrats rant and rave against big business, and then make it impossible for business to operate profitably in this state.