washington business
fOR 30 YEARS,
WE’vE HELPED
WASHINGTON
buSINESS AND
INDuSTRY TO
WORK CLEANER,
GREENER, AND
CREATE NEW
POSSIbILITIES.
The National Association of Manufacturers and the National Federation of
Independent Business commissioned a national survey of 800 small-business
owners and manufacturers this fall. Among the key findings:
• 67 percent said there is too much uncertainty in the market to
expand, grow or hire new workers.
• 69 percent of small business owners and manufacturers say
President Obama’s executive branch and regulatory policies
have hurt American small businesses and manufacturers.
• 55 percent said the economy is in a worse position compared to
three years ago. Among the chief factors cited were federal regulation,
taxes, government spending, and the cost of health insurance and energy.
bob lewis: We haven’t so far, but if
Founded in Washington in 1982,
we are problem solvers for a
wide range of environmental,
geotechnical,
natural resources,
and environmental
permitting challenges.
Clients in every market sector—
from aerospace
to agriculture,
technology to
transportation—rely on
Landau Associates for
excellence and
leadership in professional
engineering and
scientific consulting.
We extend a heartfelt thank you
to our clients, employees, and
the communities we
serve as we mark
our anniversary.
you think about going into next year,
we probably will. In other words,
we don’t have any plans to make any
capital investments next year because
we’re concerned about the regulatory
environment that may impact us over
the long term. If we fall off the financial cliff and the economy goes into
recession, even with relatively strong
demand from overseas markets, it may
change how we operate.
wb: Do you think the cost of starting, owning or operating a business
in Washington state has increased,
decreased, or stayed about the same in
the last three years?
lewis: Increased. And what’s driving it is things like building permits,
stormwater permits, things like that.
We have a tideland lease from DNR
and there was a big issue this year: We
were requested to do some unusual
The Bogert Group:
home.bogertgroup.com
Columbia Vista Corporation:
www.columbiavistacorp.com
Haskins Steel Company:
www.haskinssteelinc.com
WA S H I N G TO N E D M O N D S S E AT T L E TACO M A
TRI-CITIES SPOKANE OREGON PORTLAND
www.landauinc.com
28 association of washington business
Janicki Industries:
www.janicki.com
samplings within the river itself, and
that was driven by a lot of things not
relevant to us. So it took us almost 10
months to resist spending the probably almost $80,000 to do the tests
that were being requested and not
required. And God knows what would
have happened if we found some problem that we would have to prove didn’t
come from us.
wb: With Obamacare taking effect and
the state establishing a Health Benefit
Exchange, do you expect your health
care costs to increase, decrease or stay
about the same?