California pioneered modern product liability law, which probably has done some good although it had unintended consequences, too. But now California has gone too far. Its appellate court has held that a manufacturer can be sued for not producing a product …

At the rate California is going, it soon will be home to no one except welfare recipients, illegal immigrants and plaintiffs’ lawyers. The last productive citizen to rent a one-way U-Haul can turn out the lights. Or, rather, that probably won’t be necessary, since by then California will be relying on wind and solar energy the lights will already be off.

[This is going to kill innovation, at least in California, especially in pharmaceuticals. Not every compound works, and even those new compounds that do may not be any more effective than others already on the market. It sets up a real disincentive to do research. — Ed]