In all cases regulation came later, often much later. And the result is that many industries that got going in California, such as the manufacture of semiconductors at scale, wound up moving elsewhere. But so far, at least, we've been lucky enough to dream up new ones. :-)
This is empirically false. California's fastest growth for technology (i.e., Silicon Valley post-chip manufacturing), entertainment (i.e., films, video games, and music), and agriculture all took place after the introduction of regulations.
Silicon Valley flourished because regulations protected workers' rights. Entertainment flourished because local governments passed laws incentivizing film production and protecting workers' rights. Agriculture flourished because water-use regulations protected agricultural uses over residential/commercial usage.
In all cases, yes--the industry came first. But these industries didn't flourish until after the regulations came.
And the crazy thing is that despite all the regulation, CA's industries are still flourishing. It turns out that a company that can survive the costs of CA regulation can survive pretty much anything; a company that can't simply doesn't have a viable business model.
This is empirically false. California's fastest growth for technology (i.e., Silicon Valley post-chip manufacturing), entertainment (i.e., films, video games, and music), and agriculture all took place after the introduction of regulations.
Silicon Valley flourished because regulations protected workers' rights. Entertainment flourished because local governments passed laws incentivizing film production and protecting workers' rights. Agriculture flourished because water-use regulations protected agricultural uses over residential/commercial usage.
In all cases, yes--the industry came first. But these industries didn't flourish until after the regulations came.
And the crazy thing is that despite all the regulation, CA's industries are still flourishing. It turns out that a company that can survive the costs of CA regulation can survive pretty much anything; a company that can't simply doesn't have a viable business model.