While our state’s political leaders have spent the past year promoting ballot measures, tax increases and budget cuts as a way to tame the ever-growing $24-billion budget deficit, little attention has been given to increasing state revenues by making it easier for California employers to be more profitable and create jobs.  

California is among the most taxed and regulated states in the U.S. and, according to the Wall Street Journal, California leads the country in job losses.

The Golden State’s economy and job market are further compromised by the fact that it is one of most litigious states in the country.

Californians pay more than $32 billion a year in a “lawsuit tax”, or more than $3,300 a year for a family of four. That money could go a long way toward addressing the budget problem if it were used to purchase products and services that create jobs and generate tax revenue for local and state government.

While largely ignored by many elected officials and today’s candidates, California’s small business owners know that the issue of lawsuit abuse is a very real and costly one. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has ranked California’s legal climate as fifth worst among all states for treatment of class action suits, punitive damages and jury predictability.

According to a survey done by California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse (CALA) and the National Federation of Independent Business-California, 98 percent of respondents believe that lawsuits have hurt our economy, one-third have been sued in the last five years and six-in-ten small business owners have been threatened by lawsuits during the same period of time.

Victims of frivolous lawsuits are not just businesses, but government too. A study conducted by CALA reported that California cities and counties are spending millions of dollars annually for outside counsel and court settlements rather than providing public services that benefit us all.

The real challenge for today’s elected leaders and the candidates for constitutional offices up for grabs in 2010 lies in the need to rebuild our economy, create jobs and bring financial stability to public services by reforming lawsuit abuse.

With a legal system that is out of control we all pay and we all lose. Consumers have less disposable income, businesses are less profitable and less tax revenue is available for critical public services. By cutting the fat associated with frivolous lawsuits, we can redirect those dollars to support our small business owners and their employees and strengthen our state’s flat lined economy.

As the leading voice for lawsuit reform in California, CALA will continue to expose the real costs associated with unfettered lawsuit abuse. However, we can’t do it alone.

Our success is dependent on consumers and small business owners stepping forward and demanding from their elected officials and top-of-the-ticket candidates a legal system that facilitates justice, not greed.

Marko Mlikotin is the Northern California Regional Director for California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse and a resident of Folsom. For more information on lawsuit abuse, visit cala.com.