We need those jobs here!

I read this article today:
US firm to close branch due to lack of employees

... and then I thought about all those mortgage companies that closed in Orange county over the past few years (such as the one I used to work at), and all those people who are still struggling to find a decent job because the unemployment rate in California is over 10%, and then I put two and two together and said to myself, "Why can't they move that branch office from North Dakota to my town?" We have ample people who need jobs and enough office space to house a branch off of Redhill Avenue. What can we do to bring this company to California?

And the answer is, "Not a damn thing." The governor has raised taxes again for businesses and employees alike making it unattractive to bring new companies into California from other states. If anything, call centers like the one described in the article that is closing in North Dakota would be located in remote areas like Lancaster where companies can keep the costs and wages low being located in generally depressed areas.

I like the fact the President Obama is throwing money at the problem of unemployment, but I wonder really how it's going to get to the tens of thousands of clerical office workers who need it. People who build roads won't hire me or my friends to do a man's job. People who build houses such as framers, drywall, tile, paint and plumbers, rarely want to take on concrete or asphalt work. And then there is the "We have a job for you *if* you have the experience". The golden question surrounding that is, "How do you get experience in a field you've never worked in before in order to get a good paying job?"

Sometimes, I think the free market economy we live in is highly over-rated.