Technology changes our relationship with both business, government

LEGENDARY Speaker of the House Thomas "Tip" O'Neill once declared, "All politics is local." He meant that people in towns and cities throughout the country had a powerful influence on politicians, legislation and policies at every level — from Main Street to Pennsylvania Avenue.

Increasingly, all business is local, too. As an employee or owner of a small business, you can have a powerful influence on politicians, legislation and policies that impact the company you work for. What happens in Olympia impacts our daily lives in many ways. Indeed, your ability to influence critical decisions about business has never been stronger. Technology — particularly the Internet's ability to present information clearly and rapidly, and to deliver individuals' opinions directly to corporate and political leaders — has fundamentally changed our relationship with both business and government.

Not so long ago, employers had no easy way to tell their workforce about bills or proposed policy changes that could dramatically impact their company or industry. Nor were employees much interested in hearing such messages.

Times have changed.

A new Web-based information resource makes it easy for companies both large and small, and their employees to learn about candidates, issues and policies that affect business. It is called G.R.O.W. (Growing Roots for Our Workforce) Washington.

G.R.O.W provides information on polling locations, voter registration and contact information for elected leaders. It also keeps track of each state lawmaker's voting record on business issues.

Today, some of Washington's largest corporations and smallest businesses are opening lines of communication, offering nonpartisan views on political issues that affect their employees and business in general. Employees are listening.

Why? For one thing, companies are not telling employees how to vote. They are filling an information gap carved out by headlines of scandal, personality and fundraising. It is no longer difficult for citizens to find factual, unbiased information about the issues and policies that impact their companies.

The organization I lead, for example, has created a Web site to help Washington businesses and employees better understand and participate in the political process. If that sounds a little dry, perhaps the issues may whet your appetite.

• For Washington state employers, regardless of industry, education is the top priority. This year, the Legislature is debating the standards to which our students are to be held accountable. Washington's business community wants to keep the standards high, and opposes efforts to lower them.

• As the cost of health care and coverage continues to outstrip inflation, many employers have been forced to reduce benefits and limit or even drop coverage. This affects the number of uninsured residents, making Washington less attractive to new and existing businesses that want to provide good benefits.

• Property taxes have skyrocketed in recent years. You may be among the many citizens and companies that now pay twice the tax you paid just a few years ago. Although Washington's property tax system is one of the best in the country, there's still room for improvement if we want to continue to attract the best jobs to our state.

• Washington's private sector believes that fiscal restraint is good business for everyone: that government should limit spending to what it can take in, rather than continue to increase revenues to meet ever-increasing spending demands. It is also important to make the state budget more transparent, so taxpayers can track the effectiveness of their investments.

Now is not the time to become cynical. In less time that it takes to call into a radio talk show or attend a rally, you can read about the key issues affecting companies and employees in Washington. Then you can speak out, with real impact. You can exercise your right to vote, and be well-informed while doing so.

As employees learn more about how issues impact their jobs and companies, and which lawmakers are working to improve business in the state, their influence will increase. Nothing could be better for Washington in the long run, because business, like politics, is local.

Erin McCallum is president of the nonprofit, nonpartisan, Enterprise Washington and its Business Institute, which help companies and employees to better understand how elected officials establish public policy.