‘Either he’s not smart, or he’s being disingenuous’: Jake challenges Sen. Pedersen’s claim that millionaires aren’t leaving WA

Senate Majority Leader and architect of the millionaires’ tax Jamie Pedersen told FOX 13 he doesn’t have any evidence that millionaires or business leaders are leaving Washington as a result of the new tax.

KIRO host Jake Skorheim said he flat-out doesn’t believe Pedersen, saying the senator knows what he’s saying isn’t true and is doing what politicians do by pushing his side of things.

“There’s one of two things happening here: either he’s not a smart man, or he’s being very disingenuous,” Jake said on “The Jake and Spike Show” on KIRO Newsradio.

Jake pointed to Starbucks staking a new claim in Nashville and potentially moving 2,000 workers from Washington to the new office. He also questioned whether Pedersen missed the news that former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz was moving to Florida.

“That was like really big news. It was all over every social media platform,” Jake said. “He listed all these different reasons …. he talks about starting a business here, and what a great climate Washington was years ago, but now he and his wife are starting the next phase and adventure of their life. These are not subtle things he’s saying. And he’s saying, ‘I’m moving to Florida,’ which we all know is a very popular destination for people with a lot of money who want to hold on to their money.”

Jake says Pedersen could at least acknowledge outcome of millionaires’ tax

Jake said if Pedersen is going to support taxing people more, the least he could do is acknowledge that he knows businesses are leaving.

“The least you could do if you’re going to start charging people more for what they used to get for less, and you’re going to take more money from people, you could at least acknowledge that you know that it’s happening,” Jake said.

He believes Pedersen is choosing the route of willful ignorance.

“That’s what it feels like to me, somebody who’s just saying, ‘I’m just going to look the other way because it’s inconvenient for what I’m pushing, and what I’m pushing people don’t want, and they’re leaving as a result. So I’m just going to say it doesn’t exist and it’s not happening,'” Jake said.

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to “The Jake and Spike Show” weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.