Opinion Columnists

<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   HAVE YOUR SAY Feel strongly about something? Share it with the community by writing a letter to the editor. You’ll need to include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) We reserve the right to edit letters, but if you keep yours to 250 words or less, we won’t ask you to shorten it. If your letter is published, please wait 30 days before submitting another. Send it to: E-mail: letters@heraldnet.com Mail: Letters section The Herald P.O. Box 930 Everett, WA 98206 Fax: 425-339-3458 Have a question about letters? Contact Carol MacPherson (cmacpherson@heraldnet.com or 425-339-3472).   Published: Wednesday, July 25, 2007 State lays groundwork to share economic prosperity John Burbank The chickens are coming home to roost in our state and they are productive. Drive down almost any residential arterial, and you can't help but notice new construction, which appears to have jumped up an order of magnitude in the past few years. As we travel to Sea-Tac Airport, we can all admire the new light rail transit being laid down. Boeing rolled out the 787 on 7/8/07 right here in Everett, to a crowd of thousands of enthusiasts. It is an incredible feat of engineering, technology and assembly that appears to be jumping Boeing ahead of Airbus in commercial airplane competition. All this construction and airplane putting-together adds up to jobs, spending, growth, net migration, and in short, a boom for our economy. This month Forbes magazine also announced that we are one of the best states in which to do business, ranked No. 5 in the country. Of course, these kinds of "business climate" rankings are more subjective than objective, but we'll take it. There's hard evidence that our economy is growing, with policies that ensure the benefits of economic growth are shared throughout our communities. One strength, lauded Forbes, is our state Office of Regulatory Assistance that helps businesses sort through government regulation. Notice that it doesn't cut out this regulation, which is necessary to make sure that business growth is coupled with environmental protection, strong building codes, and worker health and safety. It just makes it easier for businesses to comply with those regulations - it is a win/win tool for businesses, workers and communities. We have enhanced our competitive place in the global economy while building economic security and opportunity for middle class workers and families. Our state respects participation in unions of, by, and for workers. Twenty-one percent of workers in Washington are in a union, almost double the national average. While Forbes has jumped our business rating from 12th to 5th place in the past year, the absolute number and proportion of union members has grown in our state, with 26,000 new members. We lead the nation in not beggaring our poorest workers, with a minimum wage of $7.93, which, just like Social Security, has an automatic cost-of-living adjustment. Our unemployment compensation system maintains the legal philosophy that you don't punish someone when she has lost her job, and, unlike other states, it is not how much money you earn that qualifies you for unemployment, but how many hours you work. We have a workers' compensation system that is a contract between the state, employers, and employees - no private insurance companies allowed. This puts the needs of injured workers and the finances of employers first. Last spring the Legislature passed into law paid family leave, so that, starting in 2009, workers can get partial compensation to care for their infants immediately after birth. This high-road economic development also means that business earnings translate to shareholder returns, incentives for corporate leaders and compensation for workers. Here is where Washington-based Costco sets a standard, and Wal-Mart takes up the rear. Wal-Mart pays workers next to nothing and suggests that they go on the state's subsidized health plan, while insuring that Lee Scott, the Wal-Mart CEO, and the descendants of Sam Walton make off with hundreds of millions of dollars. The top leaders at Costco understand that to run a good business you have to respect, encourage and support the folks who do the work. It is a conscious Costco corporate decision that Jim Sinegal, Costco's CEO, is not in the stratosphere of corporate compensation, while Costco workers are well-paid, with good health coverage, retirement benefits and pride in their work. Costco has incredibly low turnover because Costco employees are invested in their jobs. It is a model for long-term corporate success. That's the bottom line for economic development - it will hum along if workers have pride in their work. Not every company embraces this culture. But many of our state's leading businesses, big and small, including Starbucks, Boeing, and Dicks hamburgers in Seattle, do. These companies understand that they can make a profit while abiding by and reinforcing worker-friendly policies and law. As a result, we in Washington are laying the groundwork for economic prosperity for all, while winning in the global marketplace. John Burbank, executive director of the Economic Opportunity Institute (www.eoionline.org), writes every other Wednesday. Write to him in care of the institute at 1900 Northlake Way, Suite 237, Seattle, WA 98103. His e-mail address is john@eoionline.org.

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