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Home / Washington Business - July/August 2006 / Chair’s Corner: AWB Must Keep Its Focus on Priorities of Government and Business Climate |
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Chair’s Corner: AWB Must Keep Its Focus on Priorities of Government and Business Climate |
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Written On: November/December 2003 |
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Written By: By Mike Bernard, Chair - Board of Directors |
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Mike Bernard is a partner in the tax-consulting firm of Madison Cooke, Bellevue
I look forward to my year as your chair. During that time my priority will be to keep AWB focused on Washington’s business climate and the state’s Priorities of Government (POG). These two issues are inextricable linked. For AWB it is essential that the POG process continues and become ingrained as the way for state and local government to do business.
A competitive business climate is not really a tax issue, although it is often characterized that way. It’s all about government, both state and local, doing what it needs to do — and only what it needs to do — to build and maintain a vibrant commercial infrastructure in the private sector. That vibrant infrastructure provides jobs. It also provides tax revenues necessary for government to provide essential public services.
That’s where the POG process comes to the fore. Through that process two critical questions are answered: what is it that we really need and what can we afford for government to do? Once we make those decisions we focus on how to do those things effectively and efficiently.
Peter Hutchinson, POG guru, challenged AWB to define our role as a key stakeholder in this ongoing process. My challenge to all of you is to support AWB to take that lead. It is hard work and we’ll all have to roll up our sleeves and be involved.
We need a vision for Washington government and we need to be forceful in articulating that vision. We need to make sure that our legislative priorities and our clearly defined and logical positions line up with and support that vision.
The POG is powerful stuff. Under the leadership of Governor Locke, Senator Dino Rossi (R-Issaquah), and other committed lawmakers, it allowed Washington state to escape a $2.7 billion dollar budget shortfall relatively unscathed. But we only scratched the surface in 2003, and Hutchinson freely admits that 2004, 2005 and beyond will be much harder. And if we don’t fight to stay the course, the POG will become a “fleeting fad.”
Consider these challenges we have to address this next year:
• A new governor in 2005 who may or may not buy into the POG or Competitiveness Council process or recommendations;
• A new legislature which may or may not buy into the POG or Competitiveness Council;
• Continuing teacher strikes for higher pay and increased education funding;
• Full implementation of collective bargaining for state employees and home health care workers;
• Rising health care cost; and
• Unfunded pension, workers’ comp and unemployment insurance obligations.
The list goes on, but AWB is up to the challenge! Through our board, our councils, our task forces, and our committees we bring expertise and resources no other organization can match. So, I challenge all of us to be committed, active, hardworking participants in this ongoing process – maybe battle is a better term.
Because of our hard work to date we have a great start – a foundation to jump ahead of states like California, Oregon, and Alabama. Together we can make sure we take the State of Washington to the next level.
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