Amid Starbucks’ move to establish a major new corporate office in Nashville, former CEO Howard Schultz has taken a jab at Seattle’s mayor and business climate.
Schultz, also chairman emeritus of Starbucks, spent decades in Seattle building the coffee company into a global empire.
But two months after departing his longtime Seattle home for Miami, Schultz heavily criticized Seattle and Washington’s business environment in a Wall Street Journal op-ed published Monday.
Schultz said although his move to the Sunshine State was mostly for personal reasons, he felt a responsibility to “speak up about the business and job climate in a city and state that gave me so many opportunities.”
Seattle and Washington have changed — the state that once birthed business giants like Starbucks, Amazon, Costco and Microsoft rewarded risk-taking and encouraged private enterprises, he said.
But now, Seattle’s attitude toward business has turned hostile, he said.
“Seattle’s mayor, Katie Wilson, has chosen to cast business as a foil rather than a partner,” he wrote. “Her socialist rhetoric vilifies employers, even while she continues to rely on them for revenue. She has encouraged residents who disagree with her policies to leave.”
As mayor-elect, Wilson urged Seattleites to boycott Starbucks at a Nov. 13 union rally.
Wilson’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Schultz also pointed to Washington’s reliance on sales taxes, calling the tax system broken and “deeply regressive.” The Washington Legislature has focused too much on taxation to solve its financial problems, he said.
“The theory appears to be that prosperity can be mandated through redistribution rather than generated through growth,” he said.
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