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NEWS ADVISORY
 January 28, 2002
Boeing: "Washington is not competitive." State business climate must change, or company will seek greener pastures Boeing executives make no bones about it: Washington is not a competitive place for them to do business, and if lawmakers do not resolve the state’s anti-business climate the company will pull out entirely. 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. 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 Contact: Jason Mercier, Deputy Communications Director, (360) 956-3482
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1 Part Honesty; 2 Parts Arrogance At a March 23, 2005, House Appropriations hearing on a bill to gut the voter-approved I-601 spending limit, Rep. Jim McIntire (D) asked a supporter of I-601’s two-third supermajority requirement for the legislature to raise taxes the following question: "Can you name a time when we [legislators] have actually not just set it [supermajority requirement] aside by majority vote? I mean, this is in many respects a procedural motion that has no bearing. It’s a statutory constraint that cannot constrain any legislature that chooses as a majority to set it aside . . . have we ever used a supermajority [to raise taxes]?" - Rep. Jim McIntire (D - 46) Despite the arrogance of some state officials, Washington's constitution is clear: "All political power is inherent in the people..." |
