Back in April 1971, a large billboard appeared by a freeway near the Seattle-Tacoma airport. “Will The Last Person Leaving Seattle Turn Out The Lights?” A reference to the Boeing company’s decision to lay off 40,000 local employees, and the ensuing rapid downturn in the area’s economy. Among other problems, the aircraft manufacturer had suffered a crippling blow when the US Senate rejected further funding for its proposed SST supersonic jet, Boeing’s would-be competitor to Concorde.

I was reminded of the 1971 slogan just last month, when Seattle’s newly-elected mayor Katie Wilson told a university audience that she was “really, really excited” about the recent passage of a 9.9 percent state tax that applies to any household or business with an annual income of over $1 million

“I think the claims that millionaires are going to leave our area are, like, super overblown,” she announced, displaying that rhetorical gift her supporters admire in her. “And if they do leave, like, bye” Wilson added, to whoops of laughter and applause from her audience.

Oddly enough, the suits at the Seattle-based Starbucks Corporation seemed not to share the mayor’s enthusiasm. The coffee-bean giant has since announced the opening of a new hub in Nashville, along with the transfer of 2,000 employees.

Crunching the numbers, Ryan Frost of the Washington State Policy Center predicts that the greater Seattle area is on track to lose $750 million in tax revenue over the next decade, assuming a 3 percent annual growth rate for Starbucks in Tennessee.

Mayor Wilson’s equanimity isn’t surprising in view of the fact that she........

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