Jake: Is anyone really surprised that Starbucks is leaving Seattle?

I’m sitting in morning traffic, rain hammering the windshield, thinking about the story that’s been on my mind heading into today’s show: Starbucks moving even more of its headquarters out of Seattle. What strikes me isn’t the move itself — it’s the surprise people seem to feel about it.

Starbucks recently announced it’s expanding its presence in Nashville beyond what was originally planned. And here in Seattle, people are reacting as if this came out of nowhere. But did it? Anyone who has been paying attention saw this coming. Yes, Starbucks maintains that it’s keeping its footprint in Seattle as well, but let’s be honest — that feels more like a buffer against bad headlines than a genuine commitment to the city.

Income tax signing set off chain of events leading to an out-of-state move

Cast your mind back to when the income tax was signed into law. Remember the timing? Almost immediately after that bill passed, Howard Schultz, a former CEO of Starbucks, released a cryptic personal statement about his “next adventure,” which, like many other billionaires before him, meant relocating to Florida.

I have no love lost for Schultz after he sold the SuperSonics, but I don’t fault him one bit for heading somewhere with a friendlier tax environment. And I don’t fault Starbucks for doing the same.

Before the so-called millionaires tax passed, we had Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pederson on “The Jake and Spike Show.” I asked him directly: What about the businesses this will affect? Aren’t you worried about companies leaving? His answer was remarkably confident — where would they go?

Well, senator, it sounds like the answer is Tennessee.

I haven’t been to Nashville myself, but by all accounts, it’s a thriving city with a great music scene, yummy BBQ, and a tasty tax rate. It’s clearly an increasingly attractive city for businesses that no longer feel welcome here. Washington needs every competitive advantage it can get — not just to keep existing businesses, but to entice new ones to plant roots here. We need to be a state that encourages growth, not penalizes it.

Why would a new business come to Washington at this point? Lord knows it’s not for traffic or the weather.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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