business backgrounder | economy
“Sometimes the cheapest, most effective job development program is not to give up the ones you’ve got.”
— Colin Moseley, chairman Green Diamond Resource Company, noting
that Washington remains the second-biggest producer of softwood
lumber in the nation.
In the years since then, the AWB Policy Summit has become
not only a high-profile gathering where members can network
and relax, but also a place where they can hear state and
national experts discuss the latest business and political issues.
And every four years, they get a front-row seat to debates
between Washington’s gubernatorial candidates and hopefuls
running for other statewide offices.
localnomics to the rescue
Foroohar kicked off the slate of speakers at the 2013 Summit
with an upbeat assessment of the U.S. economy, which she
acknowledged has been growing at a lackluster 2 percent since
the end of the Great Recession.
The reason Foroohar is hopeful that things will improve is
the pockets of economic vitality scattered around the country
in places such as Seattle, Columbus, Ohio and her home city,
Brooklyn, N.Y.
Foroohar dubbed the phenomenon “localnomics,” and she
described it as a confluence of public-private partnerships that
Hadley Heath, senior policy analyst with the Independent
are improving schools, a growing manufac