By Martha M. Ireland

"It's not the level of taxes, the business climate," declared Gov. Gary Locke after chatting with Boeing executives. "They were very clear that no amount of concessions, no amount of changes in the state of Washington would lead them to keep their corporate headquarters here." (PDN, March 27, 2001)

Obviously, Locke still doesn't have a clue.

The business climate problem is not just Washington's business-burdensome tax structure. It is the pervasive, long-term, business-burdening mindset.

When we moved to Washington State in 1979, we heard Boeing employees and contractors predicting, "If things don't change, one of these days Boeing will up and fly away." Things changed, but only for the worse.

Dave, good friend in Federal Way, worked for The Austin Company, which was the major building and remodeling contractor for Boeing. Austin closed its Renton office nearly a decade ago. Dave's job ended because Boeing had quit building in the Seattle area.

Olympia never batted an eye.

Boeing was a cash cow to be milked and herded. An ox strong enough to bear any burden and too big to jump the fence. Or so Locke et. al. thought.

Many dire warnings were muttered by people including our own Rep. Jim Buck (R-Joyce) and Co-Speaker Clyde Ballard (R-East Wenatchee). Now Buck and Ballard are blasted by Democrats for playing a "partisan blame game," to quote one Associated Press report. (PDN, March 23, 2001)

Saying, "I told you so," may be socially incorrect, but it isn't partisan.

This state freely extracts taxes from its business community, but has done a poor job of providing the physical and regulatory infrastructure business requires.

Regulatory mine fields make the obtaining of commercial permits far more time-consuming--and sometimes more expensive--than actual construction. Companies can spend hundreds of thousands of dollars going through the process and never be allowed to build. The same is true for public facilities--witness a third runway at SeaTac International Airport and a second Tacoma Narrows bridge.

Washington has the nation's strongest pro-union laws, convincing unionists that they are entitled to jobs and benefits. Objecting to Boeing's moving its 757 fuselage assembly work from Renton to Wichita, one labor spokesman told the television news, "Those jobs belong to Puget Sound."

The same March 25 Peninsula Daily News that reported the 757 move, also reported the demise of a Kingston-to-Seattle foot ferry proposal. Clipper Navigation applied to fill a niche the state ferry system cannot. In short order, the state Utilities and Transportation Commission's permitting process and ferry workers' union turf protection demands sank Clipper's excursion.

Washingtonians blithely make employers carry the burden of medical benefits, industrial insurance, unemployment and retraining. Plus, we demand the second-highest minimum wage in the nation--all the while complaining about rising prices.

Olympic Peninsula commerce has been a favorite target of government over-regulation for years. We locals must like it that way, judging by the outcry over the proposed harvest of a bit of commercial timber on commercial timberland near Sequim.

The same politicians and voters who express bitterness at Boeing's withdrawal, seem oblivious to the challenges they place on those who conduct business in this state.

Like a hard-working, self-sacrificing, unappreciated spouse, Boeing was taken for granted, used and sometimes abused, its murmured protests routinely ignored.

Like a neglectful, insensitive spouse, Locke et. al. now bitterly accuse their victim of desertion.

Column for March 30, 2001 - Peninsula Daily News