Mixed Reviews for Gov's "Business Plan for Boeing"

The governor's pitch to Boeing for building the second 787 production line here rather than, say, South Carolina has drawn mixed responses for the state's major editorial boards. The Seattle Times says she made a strong case. The paper acknowledged critics of the plan this way.

For some, the governor's report had a certain, aah, CYA quality — a political not economic document. We can go with CYA: cataloging your assets. Washington, in the opinion of independent analysts, is a solid place to do business.

Washington is simply the best place to build airplanes, and build them at a competitive cost.

The Herald of Everett also found the package compelling, but wants the state to go further.

There is danger, however, in leaving the perception that the state need do nothing more. Like any business, the state must continually push to become more competitive.

For example, they write:

The governor’s report to Boeing doesn’t get into workers’ comp reform. It should have. Pushing for moderate reforms, like establishing an option for settling injured workers’ claims so they aren’t left open for decades, would be a sensible way to benefit all employers and encourage job creation.

The News Tribune says the pitch falls flat.

The state’s new report trumpeting Washington’s aerospace advantages reads as if it were written by people convinced the competition for Boeing’s second 787 assembly line is either in the bag or out of hand.

Here’s hoping for the former. Washington workers and businesses can ill afford to lose this opportunity.

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Given the odds, Gregoire’s report had to turn heads. It had to promise Boeing something more. Instead, it essentially says that Boeing should be happy with what it’s got.

TNT editorial writers also cite unemployment insurance, workers' comp and labor relations as key issues inadequately addressed in the plan.

More later.