High Taxes Means Lost Jobs for Snohomish County

Boeing announced today that they will be building their second 787 production line in South Carolina.  Governor Gregoire's 'no more concessions for Boeing' strategy was the height of foolishness and conjures up images of the proverbial ostrich. While some of our elected representatives were holding fake townhalls (ticketed only) on Initiative 1033 and Referendum 71, South Carolina's governor called a special session and their legislature hammered out additional tax incentives to lure Boeing to their state. Why? That famous "three-letter word" that now-VP Joe Biden told us was the top issue: "J-O-B-S."  In Snohomish County, 14% of the jobs are directly related to Boeing, another 2.5 jobs are created by each of those Boeing jobs, and 22% of the total salary in the county comes from Boeing. Snohomish County is struggling: 67,000 of us are out of work, and 6000 more homes are about to get their foreclosure notices. Seems like our Governor and State Legislature would be doing everything possible to promote job-creation here.  Boeing seems an obvious place to start, but apparently special interests control not only the pursestrings but the legislative process.  The Republicans in the Washington State Legislature proposed bill after bill to try to answer Boeing's requests but these bills never got the chance to be voted on; they were buried in committee, by the Powers That Be.  

It's not as if Boeing hasn't been patient. In the 1960s Boeing told the state to lower taxes or they would leave.  Warnings were given each decade and in 2003 Boeing asked for and was promised four things: workforce training, infrastructure improvement, unemployment insurance reform, and reform of workers' compensation insurance.  Workforce training means education; has it improved to acceptable levels? We have a high school graduation rate of 70.9% in Snohomish County; NEAP test results show 38% of Washington State 8th grade students score above proficiency in math.  Do your own experiment: ask recent high school grads what the tax is on $200 at 8%.  Most of them can't do it, as my husband found in 'mock interviews' he conducted last week. Would you want to hire these kids to build an airplane?

 Infrastructure improvement: are you spending less time in traffic than you did six years ago? Neither is Boeing--and shipping time is money.  Reform of workers' comp: why does it take three times longer to recover from a leg injury here than in another state? Go figure. Let's ask the business owner who filmed one of his employees on workers comp carrying a bathtub into a house and putting a roof on a house. Labor and Industries threatened the employer with a lawsuit if he released the video. Your tax-dollars at work.  Perhaps this begins to explain why Washington residents finally reached Tax Freedom Day on August 17 this year, a full month later than last year, according to Evergreen Freedom Foundation.  Yes, that's the day you got to begin earning money for your budget...instead of government's budget for their wish list.  Unemployment insurance reform: ours is sixth-highest cost in U.S, over double the SC cost. 

It doesn't have to be this way.  When your elected representatives' wish list doesn't bear any resemblance to yours, it's time for a change. If a job is at the top of your list, or a good education for Washington's kids, or lower health care costs, it's time to back legislative candidates who will make it happen. Do your State Representatives really represent you?