Open letter to business owners across America

Dear Business Owners of America:

What do the following major companies all have in common?

Adobe Alaska Airlines Amazon Batelle Costco Drugstore.com Eddie Bauer Expedia Genie Industries Microsoft Corp.	Nordstrom Starbucks PACCAR Pyramid Breweries RealNetworks REI Russell Investments Safeco Insurance Ste. Michelle Wine Estates Weyerhauser

They each call Washington home. And – we’re proud to say it – we think you should, too.

Why Washington? Simply, Washington is a great place to do business.

A high-altitude look at Washington’s business sector shows a $132 billion manufacturing base, with a labor force of 287,000 skilled workers.

With considerable overlap to our manufacturing base, Washington also shows a $133 billion technology base, with a labor force of 382,000 skilled workers.

Thanks to:

• the great strength of our manufacturing and technology base – which includes our abundant natural resource processing and our superior agricultural products;
• our shared border with Canada;
• our location on the Pacific providing a gateway to Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Taiwanese markets; and
• our trade infrastructure that includes 75 public, deep-water ports, 139 airports, over 7,000 miles of highways and 3,600 miles of railways…

…Washington exported $52 billion in goods in 2009 – the fourth-highest export total in the nation.

In an ever-expanding global economy, Washington plays a crucial role in our nation’s international trade. With approximately one in three jobs in Washington tied to foreign exports, we are the most trade-dependent state in the union.

In his 2011 State of the Union Address, President Obama challenged this generation to seize its “Sputnik moment” and invest in the innovations that will propel our economy forward – particularly in biomedical research, information technology and clean energy technology.  This call to action is a remarkable reflection of the economic opportunities Washington has been seizing for decades (see column on the left).

In the 2011 legislative session, the goal of our “Jobs Agenda” is to maintain our many existing successes (see how we rank in the column on the right). We also aim to create new opportunities for the future by focusing on:

• Talent and workforce. The state needs to maximize the opportunity for residents to gain the qualifications to be competitive and reap the benefits of prosperity.
• Investment and Entrepeneurship. Washington needs to be at the forefront of sceince and emerging technologies that for the foundation of new markets, products categories and industry clusters.
• Infrastructure. The state can be a leader in the creation of enormous new markets by designing and building smart infrastructure that takes full advantage of communications and information technologies to perform more effectively.
• Business Competitiveness. Through common sense reforms, the state can be a leader in the nation in providing a competitve business climate.

Whether you’re an agriculture, forestry or natural resource-based business; a manufacturing company looking for skilled workers to help you build your next product or a retail company in pursuit of new markets for your existing ones; or a company in the innovation sector seeking the brains to develop your next cutting-edge idea and bring it to market – there’s something in Washington for you.

And remember – we’re growing! Washington’s population has increased so much over the last decade, we were one of only eight states to add a Congressional seat after the 2010 census.

Washington state is open for business – come see what Washington’s land of opportunity has in store for you.

Sincerely,

The Senate Democrats of Washington state