# 4 - California Is An Economic Power House

California has surpassed Japan to become the fourth largest economy in the world, with a gross domestic product (GDP) of approximately $4.1 trillion as of 2024. This positions California behind only the United States, China, and Germany in global economic rankings.

As one of the world’s largest economies, it is fueled by trade and exports that support nearly 5.1 million jobs in the state. California exports about $368 billion worth of goods and services annually, led by the state’s thriving agriculture and technology manufacturing industry. But it isn’t just big business that benefits – 95% of all California exporters are small and medium-sized businesses.

Job Creation

In California, 5,100,000 jobs were supported by trade, representing 20.0% of all jobs in the state.

In 2023, there were 61,340 companies that exported goods from California, of which 95% were small and medium-sized enterprises.

Source : U.S Global Leadership Coalition (www.usglc.org)

California : Facts and Figures

War On Oil & Gas

Determined to save the world from climate change, California has nearly shut down its oil and gas industry, though the Golden State currently gets 50 percent of its total energy from oil and another 34 percent from gas. The state’s most recent move was a decision by California’s Geologic Energy Management Division to deny new hydraulic fracturing permits on oil and gas wells.

The assault on oil and gas has been unrelenting. In September 2023, California attorney general Rob Bonta sued Exxon Mobil, Shell, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, and BP for allegedly causing climate change-related damages and deceiving the public. A year before that, in September 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation to ban new oil and gas wells within 3,200 feet of any occupied structure—a restriction so likely to kill the industry that more than 623,000 registered voters have endorsed a referendum to repeal it.

Source : Edward Ring, California Policy Center

Gasoline at Possibly $8/Gallon

Or Higher

The current focus to shut down the Valero refinery January of 2026 will touch many of us and create a real hardship on many business in California. It is simply economic suicide and is a blatant disregard for the citizens of California.