We've all seen McDonald's commercials. However, you may not know that just about every television ad for that fast-food giant, and every movie or television show using the Golden Arches as a setting, is filmed in the same place. This McDonald's isn't real- just a facade and interior sets, with furniture, decor and uniforms representing restaurant locations worldwide. It's all an illusion, fitting right in with the imaginary world of film and television that calls Southern California home. The faux McDonald's is located in City of Industry, a Los Angeles suburb created in the 1950s specifically to cater to service and manufacturing companies-a forerunner of today's economic development zones. To manufacturers in Southern California, City of Industry provides another illusion, giving the false impression that the state cares about companies that make things. "It's the Socialist Republic of California," says one Golden State metalformer, describing what he considers the state's business-stifling regulatory climate. Metalformers and fabricators I've talked to for an article in this issue (Made in California, beginning on page 18) and a second article scheduled for the October issue essentially agree. They point to excessive workers' compensation costs, a complicated and expensive permit process, high energy costs, overly burdensome environmental standards and a general disdain for manufacturing on the part of legislators statewide.
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