Last night Mrs. Bailey and I, along with friends, attended Land Of The Sweets: The Burlesque Nutcracker. This show was, needless to say, a great deal different from Tchaikovsky's classic as performed by the Pacific Northwest Ballet. One is prim and proper the other a comedy infused with sexuality. Both though are artistic renditions that add to the tremendous cultural diversity that exists in the Puget Sound region. I have enjoyed them both.

Some Washington politicians and pundits, especially it seems those from Eastern Washington insist that if our state does not lower taxes and cut regulation on business corporations will move to the State of Idaho where apparently things are better. I wholeheartedly agree with their view that businesses in our state are overly taxed and overly regulated and that we must take steps to continually improve our business climate.

That said, while I've heard of this great corporate move to Idaho for years, I've yet to see it. The Puget Sound region has an exploding high tech economy while Idaho's premier corporation remains a potato processing concern. The facts do not match the rhetoric.

Business will locate where it is best suited to succeed. Clearly Washington does not have the best possible taxation or regulatory schemes for business, yet businesses choose to locate here, grow explosively here. Names like Microsoft and Amazon prove this to be true.

I believe that in discussions about the business climate we overlook the importance of culture as an economic driver. Artistic expression, from fine to lowbrow, attracts entrepreneurs who build corporate empires and the skilled workforce they need to do so. Business location is not all about taxes and regulation it is also about the broader culture. A culture that allows people to express themselves and be entertained in a myriad of ways is a culture that people seek to surround themselves with.

Certainly one could locate an Amazon in Idaho, but what on earth would the executives and skilled workforce of the company do for entertainment? How would they express themselves? Land Of The Sweets featured a bearded male ballerina. One would be very hard-pressed to find acceptance as such in Idaho. One could very well risk life and limb dressing in that way in parts of Idaho.

People are attracted to cultural diversity, to the entire panorama of artistic expression. If an area wishes to succeed economically it must provide a welcoming atmosphere for expression. Clearly Seattle does and clearly less economically successful states do not.

We would do very well to remember the importance of culture as an economic driver when we hear calls to ban or regulate those forms of expression that we do not personally enjoy or morally accept.