‘It’s the workers that get hurt’: Gee and Ursula fear fallout as Microsoft president warns taxes drive out jobs

Microsoft President Brad Smith said the taxes Washington is enacting are “driving people and jobs away,” during a speech at an event in September, according to The Olympian.

KIRO hosts Gee Scott and Ursula Reutin fear the impact on workers if large corporations like Microsoft leave the state.

“More often than not, it is the workers who get hurt,” Ursula said on “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio. “And I don’t feel sorry for Microsoft.”

However, Ursula cautioned that local governments relying too much on taxes could push out companies.

“When it comes to it, if companies are looking at, where is a friendlier place to do business, and if Washington, at all levels of government, is only looking at new taxes first — I mean, that is what is making a lot of this a lot more expensive for a lot of people and businesses in general,” she said.

Gee argued that the alternative to taxes is spending cuts, and Ursula replied that governments should use a combination of taxes and cuts.

But Gee pointed out that it’s not possible to completely appease both sides.

“It does not happen where it’s just right,” he said.

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.