Seattle Kraken CEO warns Washington lawmakers of spending habits | FOX 13 Seattle

[00:00:00]A prominent figure who normally doesn't speak up about politics now has a warning for Washington lawmakers. Kraken CEO Todd Liewicki says lawmakers have an insatiable appetite for spending beyond their means. Also saying the fear from the business community is at the highest he's ever seen. Take a listen to more of what the sports executive had to say at an economic summit last week. When Moody's and Fitch give us a negative rating on our future credit, we have an issue. And so, put aside the millionaire tax, which uh people like me that are privileged can complain about. My concern is that the average taxpayers not getting their money's worth. And when you spend without consequence as we have and your spending is now outpacing your means, then you're going to do things that are going to have consequence. I do know a lot of people who own businesses.

[00:01:03]And I am shocked at how many are leaving.

[00:01:06]And we can say it doesn't matter and goodbye. It does matter. There's other companies right now as we speak talking about it and probably meeting about relocating out of the state. We've got to reverse this trend.

[00:01:23]>> That summit was hosted by Rachel Smith, the president of the Washington round table. Smith is also now the chair of a new economic council formed by Governor Ferguson. She is one of 26 high-profile leaders invited to brainstorm and give guidance to policymakers. Here's a portion of my interview with Smith earlier today. Rachel, you hosted that forum where Todd Liewicki said uh he doesn't take issue with the millionaire tax per se personally, but he said he's very concerned over Washington's economic future. He says lawmakers are overspending, businesses are fleeing, that the average Washingtonian, they're not getting their money's worth in the taxes that they pay. Were you surprised about how fired up and open he was about this issue?

[00:02:07]Well, look, uh Todd is a is truly a treasure. He has done uh so many good things for this community, um and that will have an impact for decades. Uh so when he speaks, I certainly listen and his remarks do reflect, I think, the urgency that I would say I'm hearing uh kind of across the business community.

[00:02:26]um you know business leaders of all types who love the state and who have invested here um who are deeply rooted here. You know they are asking hard questions and expressing real concern that that I do hope lawmakers uh and others in the community are hearing. Uh I would say it's also why this council matters. Uh it's not about debating whether things are bad enough. It's about building the kind of intentional economic strategy that makes Washington the obvious place for people to want to invest and grow.

[00:02:55]>> And you speaking of that council, it's a new economic council that Governor Ferguson created. 26 members. We've got some big names like yourself. You're chairing it. We also have representatives from Boeing, Microsoft, and Amazon at the table. Why did Governor Ferguson want to do this?

[00:03:11]Because there's a lot of conversation about people saying, "Hey, the party's over for businesses in Washington. and it feels like it's going in the wrong direction. Is that why he wanted to bring a lot of these people to the table?

[00:03:22]>> Uh well, I I won't speak for the governor himself. Um but certainly he has talked for uh most of his term about uh economic development and uh the need to have real intention around it.

[00:03:34]Washington doesn't have to be the lowest uh tax state in the nation, but it shouldn't be a major outlier and still be competitive. You know the values of the people in the state dictate that we will invest robustly in public services.

[00:03:46]We shouldn't call it austerity to manage a budget sustainability and with accountability. And there are many pe uh many things that draw people to this amazing place but just being a beautiful place to live is not an economic strategy. And I believe Governor Ferguson understands all that. I understand all that and that's why um I was honored to participate when he invited me to.

[00:04:07]>> So are we an outlier when it comes to taxes?

[00:04:11]I think for some uh can't yeah for some taxes we we certainly are and I think you know the the the picture is certainly a little complicated right now. It's why in the span of just a few days you can see you know a headline that says you know anth anthropic expands in Seattle but also Seattle facing years of zombie towers or Washington economy grows fastest in the nation or Seattle's economic engine is starting to sputter. They're not contradictions. their observations on on where we've been and where we may be be going. And I would say, you know, there's rarely a um a straw that breaks the camel's back kind of moment for most businesses. Rather, they are constantly evaluating the environment in which they're operating in and determining if they can be successful. For some, that means changing a business model or pausing investments or hiring fewer people or shifting growth. Um, and I think sometimes a downturn in economic competitiveness is less of a seismic event and more of a more of a kind of a quiet erosion. Um, and that's why having a a forum in which we can really be intentional about economic development is so important right now.

[00:05:18]Rachel Smith again, who is the chair of the new economic council, says the 26 leaders will have their first in-person meeting in August, and they hope their policy advice and guidance will be used during the upcoming legislative session in Olympia. Yeah.