Several conclusions can be drawn from the No. 15 ranking that Washington state received Wednesday in CNBC’s study of the best states for business. Those observations range from local to global:
We’ll start with how this ranking affects our community. As Washington and Oregon pursue businesses that are relocating (and the all-important jobs that come with those new companies), Clark County can be described as the epicenter of that competition. Business leaders elsewhere are looking for new places to hire workers, make money and perhaps build corporate headquarters. They know full well that Washington has a sales tax and no state income tax while Oregon is the reverse. This equation affects different businesses in different ways.
Washington’s ranking as the 15th best state for business is good news for Clark County, and it becomes great news when it’s understood that (1) our state improved from 16th last year and (2) Oregon fell from 18th last year to 23rd.
Among business recruiters, this widening of our rankings advantage over Oregon from two spots to seven spots invigorates the efforts of the Columbia River Economic Development Council. The rankings are not overwhelmingly influential, but they certainly help. According to CREDC President Bart Phillips, “We are answering questions (from companies) on a far finer level,” than what the CNBC study presents. While CNBC analyzed categories such as the overall cost of doing business and education, leaders of relocating businesses focus more intently on labor costs, energy costs, water and sewer hookups and many other elements.
Nevertheless, as Phillips noted in a Thursday Columbian story by Aaron Corvin, “you can be kept from consideration” just by receiving a low ranking on a national competitiveness study. In other words, we’re not West Virginia (46th), Nevada (47th), Hawaii (48th), Rhode Island (49th) or Alaska (50th), and that is a good thing for the Evergreen State.
Although businesses are by nature obsessed with the bottom line, an unmeasured level of attention often is paid to local quality of life. After all, successful business leaders want their employees living, working and playing in places where they can be happy. To that extent, in the CNBC study Washington boasts a No. 8 ranking in quality of life, up from 11th last year.
We all play a part in creating jobs. You might not be an economic developer by trade, but you’re probably a voter. And in Oregon this year, voters chose to increase income and corporate income taxes. “When that happens, you end up having business confidence drop,” Association of Washington Business President Don Brunell said in Corvin’s story.
In Washington on Nov. 2, voters will decide on Initiative 1098, which proposes a state income tax on the wealthy. Seattle pollster Stuart Elway in early June interviewed 405 registered voters about I-1098 and found a dead-even split among the respondents. This issue will not escape the attention of many business leaders who are considering moving here. How I-1098 develops politically could affect how our state develops economically.
Washington has a diverse economy, more so than Oregon. Business leaders know that this gives us an advantage particularly in the international trade.
Washington continues to exploit its status as a leader in innovation. The CNBC study ranks us No. 5 in technology and innovation. Taken to the local level, that means Clark College and Washington State University Vancouver must continue their passionate pursuits of work force development and high-tech academics.
