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Jan Teague, President/CEO


Mission Statement

To represent the legislative, regulatory and political interests of the retailing industry in the State of Washington at the local, state and national level; to promote the orderly development and economic advancement of Washington retailing and the state as a whole; to stimulate and enhance competitive enterprise with community responsibility; to provide programs of service and action in promoting the common interests of members; and to secure cooperation with and among other organizations in the furtherance of those objectives.

How do we create jobs?

By Jan Teague, President/CEO

 

Over the last few weeks we have been hearing from both sides of the political aisle and at all levels of government that job creation is the top priority. Last week, our National Retail Federation quickly responded with support for President Obama's job creation priority with the notation to let the private sector do what it does best, create jobs. 

 

I have been saying to whomever will listen that if we can start to get people back to work, the spirit of the nation will pick up and so will the economy.  It takes time to build confidence in people that things are not going to get worse. We all have to participate in advocating that job growth is what we need.  If unemployment continues to go up, and we read about increased costs for state budgets, and we read about increased costs for unemployment insurance taxes to cover the unemployed, and we read about increased taxes passing to cover state budgets - what will people decide to do?  Sit back and wait it out. 

 

It's not a good message for people to hear all the time and does not foster the mentality that energizes people to decide to go into business or to decide to take the risk of expanding their business.    

 

Our next big hurdle is arguing over which ideas will create these jobs.  Over the next few months competing ideas will be discussed on the best way for government to fund job creation.  This brings me back to the statement made by our national affiliate last week; let the private sector do what it does best, create jobs.

 

Governor Gregoire plans to use the state's leverage to create jobs in health care and environmentally green jobs. Some state legislators want to rebuild schools.  These are good goals, but will take years to implement. The Federal stimulus money of last year barely made a dent in a recovery as an example. In the short term, the answer is in the private sector. Business, not government, is agile, takes risks, and hires much more quickly to implement its business plans. 

 

People need to see financial stability in their communities before they decide to spend money on new business ideas or go to the stores to buy the more discretionary consumer goods or big ticket items like a car or a home.   

 

For businesses to develop or grow, that stability includes knowing what their tax obligations will be for the next few years and knowing that their elected leaders won't be adding new rules on them every year. Economic stability will require that government stop its silo mentality when it comes to proposing annual regulatory changes or tax increases. 

 

When all government changes are put together, costs go up more than businesses can afford - for gas, for electricity, for payroll and for consumer goods. These cumulative decisions are made by local, state, and national governments - hundreds of them with specific specialty programs. 

 

Can governments overcome their silo mentalities to give business a chance to do what it does best, employ people?  We will all be waiting to see the details of the answer in the coming months. 


Taxes would rise under Gregoire's budget revision
WRA President urges no tax increase  
 
Taxes must increase next year to restore deep cuts in a state supplemental budget, Gov. Christine Gregoire said on Wednesday.
 
Gregoire proposed 1,500 layoffs of state employees, the closing of some state prisons, ending tax loopholes and the elimination of nearly 100 boards and commissions to achieve $1 billion in spending cuts to balance the state budget. Revenues for the current budget are falling $2.6 billion short of expenses.
 
Gregoire said she would introduce a tax and revenue package to the Legislature in January to restore some of her proposed cuts.
 
Jan Teague, President and CEO of the Washington Retail Association, said a revised budget including new taxes would hurt businesses struggling to survive the recession.
 
"Some businesses," Teague said, "already have failed to survive this downturn. New taxes most certainly will cause others to fail. The Governor and Legislature should do all they can to avoid the possibility of new taxes that will prolong the recession and delay the economic recovery."
 
Though Gregoire declined to discuss what form tax increases might take, she said she would be hard pressed to propose an increase in the business and occupations tax given the economic damage done by the recession. She said she is "struggling" to consider a sales tax increase, but added she was hopeful that possible new federal aid included in the health care reform proposal and the closing of tax loopholes and exemptions could help to balance the remainder of the 2009-2010 budget.
 
To balance the budget, Gregoire would spend $900 million of the state's savings, eliminate the Basic Health Plan and general assistance to the unemployed, close some state prisons and eliminate aid for hospice services and maternity care for the poor.
 
Gregoire pledged to do her best to avoid taxes that would slow the state's economic recovery, but she declined to say how for the time being.
 
Worsening Gregoire's budget challenge this year is the possibility of no guaranteed federal aid to help balance the spending plan. Last session, the Legislature relied on $3 billion in federal aid to offset $9 billion in spending cuts to balance the budget.
 
But since that time, state revenues have continued to fall below expectations, requiring further adjustments to keep the budget balanced.
 
Gregoire predicted that the next biennial budget adoption period in a year would not be much improved, if at all, given the slow economic recovery currently underway.
 
"I'm always getting ready for the worse now," she said. "This is a three-year problem, not just a one-year problem."
 
To read more about today's budget proposal and further financial documents, click
here. 

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The Washington Retail Association, WRA, is a 501 C 6 trade association formed to advocate for Washington State’s retailers at the local, state and national level. Since 1987, the WRA has protected Washington's retailers from unreasonable taxes, fees, regulations and legislation. The efforts of the WRA benefit all Washington state retailers and help fuel statewide economic growth.


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Washington Retail Association (WRA)
PO Box 2227
618 Quince St SE, STE A
Olympia, WA  98501
360-943-9198
800-752-9552