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January 28, 2002
Boeing: 'Washington is not competitive.'
State business climate must change, or company will seek greener pastures
In a January 16th testimony before the House Labor Committee, Boeing CEO Alan Mulally echoed the findings of EFF’s recently published Business Matters series: Washington’s business policies stifle, rather than stimulate, the market and economy.
Mulally zeroed in on six specific areas: transportation, taxes, energy, education, unemployment insurance, and regulations. His words could not be more clear:
"[I]n every one of these categories, the state of Washington is not competitive. . . . So to answer your question, in every one of those areas, the state of Washington is not competitive. Let me say it again. In every one of these areas, the state of Washington is not competitive. Meaning it costs us more to operate in the state of Washington."
Mulally’s comments should not be taken as a threat, but rather a statement of reality in a free-market economic system. Mulally continued,
"We believe in market-based economies. . . . we, the citizens of the state of Washington, have some big decisions to make. Are we going to move up in competitiveness in every one of these categories? . . . if we’re not, we’ll know it. You don’t have to say anything. We don’t have to say anything to each other. We will keep moving to a world where we can operate as a business. . . . It’s not personal. . . . This is what the United States is based upon.
". . . [W]e have a fiduciary responsibility. To our employees, to the customers, to the communities in which we operate, and to our shareholders. . . . we have to be competitive."
Listen to or read the actual transcripts of these clips (including their immediate context)
Read EFF’s ten-part Business Matters series on resolving Washington’s anti-business climate
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