Starbucks Founder WARNS Mayor Wilson's Policies = Seattle Business EXODUS

Added: 2026-05-15

[00:00:00]I think the claims that millionaires are going to leave our state are like super overblown and if you know the ones that leave like bye. Um Seattle's socialist mayor elect Katie Wilson is facing major issues when she takes office in January like empty storefronts boarded up restaurants. Seattle independent journalist Brandy Cruz joins me now.

[00:00:21]>> Now the company's former CEO Howard Schultz. Yes, the guy who once called the Seattle Sonics a public trust before selling them off to out of town buyers is bolting town, too. Writing in an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, "Cattle has turned hostile to business."

[00:00:37]Writing, "Mayor Katie Wilson has chosen to cast business as a foil rather than a partner, and her socialist rhetoric vilifies employers even while she continues to rely on them for revenue."

[00:00:50]>> 33% vacancy rate in Seattle right now.

[00:00:53]zero square feet of office space under construction. And there are people in the city who will blame that on the p pandemic. Some of it can be blamed on the pandemic, but a lot of it is the anti- business environment.

[00:01:06]>> Just that's it flat out anti >> the brand new mayor of Seattle, Katie Wilson, a socialist. A couple days after she was elected, what was she doing?

[00:01:13]Protesting Starbucks. I'm >> proud to say loud and clear, I am not buying Starbucks and you should not either. The 73-year-old billionaire recently moved to Florida, saying he's in the retirement phase of his life, confirming Washington's policies are not the only reason why he left the state.

[00:01:30]This as Starbucks chose Tennessee as its new headquarters and laid off 61 corporate workers right here in Seattle yesterday.

[00:01:38]>> Those two things cannot coexist.

[00:01:39]Nashville got $100 million in 2,000 jobs. Seattle got a press release. Who won in this scenario?

[00:01:48]Howard Schultz, founder of Starbucks, skewers, Seattle and Washington State. He's got some he's got some amazing arguments.

[00:01:58]You might not like him, but what he says is true. Let's get into it. Here we go.

[00:02:03]This was a piece this was an opinion piece that came out in the Wall Street Journal, and I found it. It seems like every single time something comes out Washington statewise, Starbucks makes an announcement. So Howard Schultz releases this article in the Wall Street Journal, this opinion piece. And at the same time, this article comes out, this news story comes out. Starbucks lays off 61 more corporate workers in Seattle. I've done a complete podcast on that. You can see that on this channel. Should be out about the same time, recording it the same day.

[00:02:39]The last time we had this happen, the millionaire tax, the millionaire tax, say what announced on a Monday or it got, you know, approved, signed in by the governor, he did it. Ah, greatest thing ever. And then Starbucks the next day or the same day, it was almost simultaneous. Starbucks said, "Hey, you know what? We're going to spend $100 million and we're going to move 2,000 jobs from Seattle to Nashville, Tennessee. That was almost simultaneous. So, you've got another one of these deals going on here. Starbucks is moving jobs from Washington State to Tennessee and is and it isn't alone in looking elsewhere. Washington State's been my home for more than four decades.

[00:03:23]Been my home for more than five. I arrived in Seattle with dreams and ambition and ended up building Starbucks into a company known around the world.

[00:03:30]Many Pacific Northwesterners join me in shaping the cultural benefits and brand of Starbucks. You can find Starbucks literally in weird places across the world, contributing to not only a business, but also the civic and entrepreneurial life of the area. He's kind of given us a leadup. I'm no longer a resident of Washington. That was also another big story. Sold his place in Seattle. Did he sell? I can't remember.

[00:03:55]There's been so many millionaires and billionaires and he's a billionaire that have moved that have just gone gone. He bought Howard Schultz bought what? A $44 million penthouse I think in Florida. I mean, as you do, as you do. My decision to leave had much to do with family choices and my stage of life. If things were going well here in Seattle, he wouldn't be moving. His stage of life, he's got family in Florida, yeah, but he'd still keep more ties here. But instead, Florida has made it abundantly clear. Tennessee has made it abundantly clear that they're open for business.

[00:04:33]Texas has made it abundantly clear.

[00:04:34]Washington state, they're going the opposite way. They're going the socialist commie direction, right? Bunch of communists running the state. They don't come out and say it. I mean, Katie Wilson comes right out and says she's a socialist.

[00:04:47]Only difference is what? government takes over the production, takes over the businesses, right? That's that's really the only difference.

[00:04:57]Still, I feel a responsibility to speak up about the business and job climate in a city and state that gave me so many opportunities. And this this storyline is happening in real time across Washington state right now. And not just Washington. You got it going on in Oregon. You got it going on in California. anywhere where Democrats have had a supermajority for quite some time.

[00:05:20]Yeah. Enjoy the decline. You don't have a single state or city run consistently or or even a city in a state that that is avoiding the impact of their policies whether it's homelessness or job creation because you've got a lot of big blue cities in inside of red states.

[00:05:43]Austin, Texas being a great example of that. Every now and then the governor has to say, "Nope, nope, nope. You're not doing that. Here's what we're doing, and you better get on it. Otherwise, we're going to cut your funding."

[00:05:56]Literally do that consistently.

[00:05:58]Washington's economic story over the past half century is extraordinary. You got Microsoft, you got Amazon, you got Costco. Costco is another one people are saying, "When's their headquarters going to bounce?" And a host of other new companies transformed. Global Center of Technology, innovation and logistics, entrepreneurs worldwide, money came in, wages rose, imported and homegrown talent flourished, homes were purchased, home prices skyrocketed because you got a bunch of tech bros coming in and they're able to afford. Now, now that is oh, silence is deafening. That ecosystem worked because risktaking was rewarded.

[00:06:39]That's how capitalism works. We've got a political system here that is based on socialism. Spread the wealth. Wealth tax on all millionaires tax, statewide payroll tax. You name it, we've got it.

[00:06:54]High sales tax, high gas tax, climate commitment act, the list just goes on and on and on to pay for all of our generous social welfare programs.

[00:07:06]So growth was possible and civic leadership while imperfect understood that private enterprise wasn't the adversary of the public good. It was one engine for improving improving the public sphere job creation businesses.

[00:07:22]And what does Katie Wilson, the brand new mayor of Seattle, what's one of her very very first major news stories?

[00:07:31]We're boycotting Starbucks, which is from Seattle. Howard Schultz, the founder. I mean, the the irony of all this, it just it's like, what did you think would happen when you said boycott Starbucks? You're finding out actions have consequences. But liberals have never really Democrats typically don't recognize consequences for their actions. But now they're staring it straight in the face. What do they do?

[00:08:00]Ah, just ignore it. Yeah, it's not a big deal. Just just brush it off. Jamie Peterson, who wrote the statewide millionaire tax for Washington state, he doesn't believe that it's going to have much of an impact on actual businesses leaving. Okay. Meanwhile, you've got a poll saying 91% of all Washington businesses have said they are not expanding in Washington. They're looking at other states. They're not expanding almost unanimously. Are you putting more money into your businesses in Washington? No. That's the answer. So Jamie, you might be right, but I wouldn't be gambling on that. I wouldn't be gambling on that angle, right?

[00:08:40]Ecosystem is fractured today. Seattle and much of Washington face serious problems. You got chronic homelessness.

[00:08:47]You got disorder and core business districts. Let's talk about that. That just gets ignored. You got people running around chasing each other with machetes, right? What was it? I think my son Karen was was was telling me, was it Los Angeles?

[00:09:03]Some dude got stabbed with a uh with a sword. And I'm like, yeah, they love swords because one minute they can be doing some kind of Shakespeare deal and the next minute they're stabbing one of their other whacked out homeless, you know, comrades on the sidewalk.

[00:09:19]other stories that we've had recently.

[00:09:22]We've had two murders in the last last weekend with growler guy in Seattle on 75th and Lake City Way. It's kind of by um it's Northgate area. It's um we got a third story there. So, Growler Guy Kid is supposed to watch Growler Guy, which is a Growler business overnight. Make sure people don't break in. They don't strip out the copper wiring from the condensers.

[00:09:47]employee goes in at 9:00 am, finds the kid dead, riddled with bullets, dead.

[00:09:54]Had another dude, black dude, murdered a trans in the University of Washington um off-campus school area. Just stabbed him to death in the utility room. Then you had a teenage girl basically get pulled into the bushes in Northgate, which is again up by Lake City Way, maybe eight miles north of of um downtown Seattle. Pulled into the bushes by a guy who has like 38 criminal convictions. It's just an absolute f felon walking around. He's got all kinds of outstanding warrants. Takes this young teenage girl and just takes her to pound town in the bushes. I mean, just some hardcore stuff. So disorder in core business districts absolutely 100%.

[00:10:40]Persistent budget deficits. Huh. Why is that? Well, because we're overspending.

[00:10:45]Don't have enough revenue coming in. The revenue is consistently shrinking because businesses are leaving. People are leaving. Yeah. Not that hard to figure out. Declining public school outcomes. Kids can barely read or write.

[00:10:58]And so if you're paying massive taxes, like my son Karen is moving out of Seattle. His house closes this next week, I think.

[00:11:09]He's like, "Dad, why am I paying so much in taxes if I'm not going to send my kid to a school?" He doesn't have kids, but if I'm not going to send my kids to a school district here, if I There's no way in hell I'm sending my kids to the Seattle public school. And you're left with Yeah. Why would you? Well, then then, you know, the question is, why are you in Seattle? What are you doing?

[00:11:29]persistent budget deficits, declining public school outcomes, and a slowing technology hiring cycle. These challenges aren't unique to the state, but Washington's response to them is.

[00:11:40]They ignore it. They just completely ignore it. It's going to do this.

[00:11:44]Seattle's mayor, Katie Wilson, has chosen to cast business as a foil rather than a partner. Boycott Starbucks. My neck, my back, my paycheck is whack.

[00:11:55]you know, baristas should get paid the same as assemblymen for Boeing. Uh, probably not. Her socialist rhetoric vilifies employers even while she continues to rely on them for revenue.

[00:12:07]She just lately came out and said, "Hey, thanks Starbucks for all your funding of the homeless problem."

[00:12:15]You know, getting it coming and going, right? She's encouraged residents who disagree with her policies to leave.

[00:12:21]She literally said last week or the week before I think the stories about the millionaires leaving Washington state, leaving Seattle are overblown. And for those millionaires that do leave, bye.

[00:12:32]And then she giggled and chuckled. The whole room chuckled with her and they were like, "Oh, edgy and edgy. Yeah, but you're literally shooting yourself in the foot. You're the mayor. You're supposed to be supporting these businesses." But because you're a socialist knucklehead, that's not what you do. In the state capital, legislature and governor confronted difficult fiscal trade-offs, taxation rather than reform or performance management.

[00:12:59]Just continually tax for got to cover all these generous social welfare programs. Theory, prosperity can be mandated through redistribution rather than regenerated through growth.

[00:13:11]Absolutely. When Sean Scott was asked by um who was it? Randy Cruz uh you know what's a good example of of socialism working and he came up with Cuba who was who was on the cusp of yet another massive massive breakdown. Yeah.

[00:13:33]I don't I don't think I'd be talking about Cuba being the you know poster child for how things work well. No. Washington has a broken tax system. 10.59% in Seattle. Massive.

[00:13:47]It's deeply regressive. Meaning people who make the least amount of money, it takes up the biggest chunk of their paycheck, right? Just like our gas prices, some of the highest in the nation. Deeply regressive taxes those who can afford it the most. Hey, let's work on that. Oh no, we got to go after the millionaires. State needs to rewrite its tax code. Instead of reform, those in power have opted to increase the burden on businesses and successful entrepreneurs, discouraging them from growth. when Washington needs growing.

[00:14:22]Not happening. The situation's just becoming more fragile. Microsoft, Amazon once just brought people in by the loads, by the thousands. We saw it in the real estate market. Tech bros buying up real estate, slowed recruitment, reduced headcounts as they race to build data center capacity. Amazon spending what? 200 billion on AI and they're basically, you know, they're trying to compete globally. Starbucks, hundreds of corporate roles, 2000 to Tennessee, firing people in Seattle. Companies imported global talent at scale for decades, 100% decades. Since I was a kid, we've had people moving up here from California and a lot of it has been tech because there was a massive vacuum.

[00:15:12]Hey, Washington state is super inexpensive, no income tax, low tax base, pro business. Let's go. As those businesses reduce their local role, Seattle has no clear answer to the question of what will provide the next set of jobs and revenue growth. H he's basically just calling out state of Washington and Seattle. Hey, what are you guys going to do?

[00:15:38]And everybody's kind of looking at that.

[00:15:40]And you know what the answer is? Oh, they're going to tax millionaires.

[00:15:44]Genius. Boy, that is Why didn't I come up with that? Why didn't I come up with that? Just absolute zinger of a concept.

[00:15:52]Cities and states don't decline overnight. Ask Detroit. They drift when public safety, fiscal stability, and economic vitality deteriorate altogether. And that has happened 100%.

[00:16:05]Downtown vacancies, less foot traffic.

[00:16:08]Declining foot traffic, weakened small businesses that have basically all left.

[00:16:14]Employment down, revenue down, services down, confidence gone. Something that's hard to build and easy to lose begins to evaporate.

[00:16:26]And that's happened. And that's what we're on the cusp of. Entrepreneurs are accustomed to accountability.

[00:16:32]Washington state government should be the same. Hey, what you guys are doing doesn't work. You know what? Doesn't matter because they are on the, you know, train wreck of socialism is going to get us there. Oh, yeah. It's going to be great. Progressive revenue. We need more of it. Not happening. Living doesn't mean abandoning. My family foundation remains invested in Washington's future.

[00:16:57]Yeah. For how long?

[00:17:00]M yeah. I hope Washington's leaders will embrace these policies and forge a new compact. Well, I hope so, too. But I mean, look at the situation. You could hope 10 ways from Sunday.

[00:17:16]I hope we went to the moon. I hope the Sonics come back to Seattle. I hope a lot of things.

[00:17:24]That ain't going to happen. It's not going to happen. Seattle's Washington's leaders will embrace these policies and forge a new compact. That's not happening. That is not happening. But he is saying, "Hey, for things to get better, this is what we need to do." He wants it on paper because he's left. He has left the building. Howard Schultz has left the building. And who can blame him? The guy The guy is mobile. The guy's got billions. Why wouldn't he just up Yeah. F off Washington. You guys can suck it. Literally, you guys can suck it.

[00:17:56]It's what it's what we're doing. One grounded in job creation, sensible taxation, and accountable public spending. This is what he's hoping for Washington state. Washington once embodied the future of the US economy, and it can again. Not anytime soon. That ain't happening because Washingtonians and Seattleites, they love communism. They love socialism. Love otherwise they wouldn't vote all these lip tards into office, would they?

[00:18:24]Liberal politics.

[00:18:26]destroy cities, destroy states. We're watching that happen in real time. And and there's nothing you can say about it. You can't tell me otherwise. You can't tell me this massive flow from blue states to red states isn't real.

[00:18:45]The 2030 census that is going to that's going to be a real uh right because so much population shift will have happened by then. will get a good idea of exactly, we know roughly the numbers, but they're not flowing into blue cities. They're not flowing into blue states. California, one of their politicians just recently came out who Oh, that terrible woman running for governor. She's just horrible. The one that um dumped hot scalding mashed potatoes on her now ex-husband's head.

[00:19:17]There you go. Take that, you bastard.

[00:19:20]Hot scalding mashed potatoes right on his head. You imagine just ah came right out and said hey you know the population out migration that's basically been offset by the criminal illegals coming in to state of California that's how they've propped it up said the quiet part out loud just this is what we're doing this is how we've offset that I mean known quantity right that the current government needs to learn that future entrepreneurs won't be attracted by ineffective public systems especially when joined with policy and political rhetoric that demonize businesses.

[00:20:00]Yeah. Have businesses been demonized?

[00:20:03]Absolutely. When you got a numbnut like Katie Wilson running around, don't buy from Starbucks, you know, my neck, my back, my paycheck is whack kind of just absolute nonsense because the job they're doing isn't worth the money they're asking for. It's not there.

[00:20:22]Nobody's going to run a tech company here because the outlook is just like, "Oh, what's coming?" Well, we think the millionaire tax is on the horizon, which is illegal, but we're gonna, you know, the attorney general is going to work with um, you know, everybody involved and just get this overturned.

[00:20:39]Yeah. Just we're just going to overturn it. And then they've basically come right out and said through a series of leaked emails that we're going to tax everybody. This is just to open up the door so that they can, you know, show slam that door wide open and just tax the f out of everybody because they need the revenue because businesses are leaving and their generous social welfare programs are very expensive.

[00:21:02]We're a sanctuary city. Seattle's a sanctuary city and Washington state is a sanctuary state. It's what I meant to say.

[00:21:10]That's only going to go one way and that's that's not positive. But hey, you know what?

[00:21:18]this is what happens. But Democrats are not used to having consequences for their actions. And now they're going to find it on a very public level. And you're it's not only Washington, it's Oregon, it's California, it's so New York, you know, Illinois, Chicago.

[00:21:37]They're all looking at their tax revenue going, "Oh my word, what are we going to do?" Well, we need to tax the rich.

[00:21:45]It's like tax the rich gown that AOC wore to the 2021 MetGala which costs $35,000 a plate and and you're wearing a white dress that says tax the rich. Uh that that is just the ultimate ultimate in what we're talking about here, right? Just tom foolery, isn't it? By who shenanigans. Sure you're subscribed. Hit that notification bell. I'll see you in the next episode.

[00:22:13]Thanks again for joining. Bye for now.