Boeing Provides a Spark to the Economy

by Gary Toebben

A job is like a fire, providing energy, light, heat and sustenance to the life of the person who holds the flame. It illuminates the vision ahead to see a brighter future of caring for oneself and our families. Last week, the Los Angeles region received the promise of many more lights with The Boeing Co.’s announcement that it would soon be moving 1,000 high paying skilled engineering jobs to our communities.

“The Company’s announcement … indicates that much of the work on next-generation aircraft will transition from Washington state to California by the end of 2015,” stated the Los Angeles Times. This could be the start of reversing the trend we have seen over the last 20-plus years in the aerospace industry in California.

Boeing's investment in our region is a spark that could lead to a roaring fire of job creation. For that, we send a big thank you note to Seattle. Credit is also due to the leadership in the communities in which the company is choosing to expand because they have supported their existing Boeing operations and worked to improve their business environment to encourage expansion decisions like this one. 

This announcement by Boeing is a welcome reminder to all elected officials and business leaders that if we build a solid infrastructure, educate a strong workforce and resist the urge to overregulate growing industries, 1,000 new jobs in the aerospace industry can be just the beginning. The same attitude can lead to tens of thousands of new jobs in the entertainment industry, manufacturing, energy, construction, trade and other industry clusters that have seen far too many job declines in the recent past.

Thank you to Boeing for your investment in Southern California. Our pledge to you is to nurture the spark you have provided and use it to grow a better economy for all of us.

And that's The Business Perspective.