Boeing’s announcement that it will move its corporate headquarters from Seattle to Dallas, Denver or Chicago hit the Puget Sound region harder than the Ash Wednesday Earthquake. Unlike the Feb. 28 tremor, this one has sent a series of aftershocks reverberating through our state.

It is a serious blow to the prestige of Seattle and our state for a company that grew up here to suddenly pull up roots and leave home. Moving a corporate headquarters is not a decision company officials make in haste. Such moves can be very disruptive, especially for a company that has been anchored here since 1916.

All of the reasons for the decision may never be known, but some of the factors seem clear. Just the hint that our state’s business climate had factored into the decision is like getting splashed with a bucket of ice water.

The question now is what can our state and local governments do to make sure that Boeing and its 85,000 jobs stay here. We should be thinking about how we can expand that employment base because they are the good family-wage jobs we all want.

Improve our

business climate

Clearly, we must improve our business climate if we expect to keep Boeing and other employers from jumping ship. Here are just a few examples taken from the competitiveness report authored by the Association of Washington Business, Washington Roundtable and the Washington Research Council.

• Legislators and the governor need to pass a comprehensive, funded transportation improvement plan that reduces traffic congestion this year.

• We need to quit the haggling over the third runway at Seattle-Tacoma Airport and build the darn thing.

• Lawmakers and the governor need to improve the regulatory climate in Washington, which according to a study by Clemson University, is the fifth worst in the nation.

• State officials should expedite new energy plants. Boeing and other Washington companies grew up on low-cost, reliable electricity. It has been a significant competitive advantage over the years. However, today that advantage is rapidly slipping away. Gov. Locke is right to call for energy and water conservation, but conservation alone will not solve our problem. We need energy projects sited, permitted and constructed.

burden is heavy

Legislators and state officials must confront the reality that Washington state is one of the most heavily taxed and regulated states in the nation.

Boeing and other major employers cannot and will not operate indefinitely under a crushing tax and regulatory burden that gives their competitors an unfair advantage. Other states have realized this. It remains to be seen if Washington state “gets the message.”

Boeing’s announcement will be remembered as vividly as the dramatic layoffs of the early 1970s. Back then, there was a big billboard that said: “Last one out of Seattle, turn off the light.”

Hopefully, we can work together to make the improvements we need to make Washington’s business climate strong and healthy. Otherwise, we may one day see a sign that says: “Last one out of the Everett plant, lock the door.”

Don Brunell is president of the Association of Washington Business, Washington state’s chamber of commerce. For more information, go to www.awb.org.