A Young Socialist Mayor, Starbucks and the Tension Over Soaking the Rich
Seattle voters elected Mayor Katie Wilson as tensions rose over wealth inequality, but as Starbucks, one of the city’s most iconic companies, expands in Nashville, she is finding her limits.
Anna Griffin reported from Seattle, Emily Cochrane from Nashville.
Seattle’s mayor, Katie Wilson, gave a long, thoughtful response a few weeks ago when conversation at a Seattle University forum turned to the current economic climate and her support for higher taxes on wealthy residents and large businesses.
Then Ms. Wilson, a democratic socialist in her first year in office, went off the cuff: “I think the claims that millionaires are going to leave our state are super overblown,” she said. “And the ones that leave? Like, bye.”
Ms. Wilson’s comments generated applause and laughter in the room. But outside, the remarks drew a swift reaction and highlighted how political leaders and business executives are increasingly uneasy about Seattle’s changing relationship with the companies that helped transform the city into a global hub for entrepreneurial innovation. Her “like, bye,” and the wave she gave with it, also pulled Seattle into a broader debate in liberal cities about how to solve rising housing prices and economic disparity without driving away investment, employers and affluent residents.
In Seattle, the current debate centers on one company at the heart of its modern identity, Starbucks, which recently announced plans to create a 2,000-employee corporate hub in Nashville. Even before Ms. Wilson’s comments, anxiety was rising that the coffee giant — or at least more of its operations — could drift away from its hometown.
