‘The warning signs are flashing’: New regional partnership calls for cohesive Seattle-area tech strategy

“You should tax things you want to discourage, like cigarettes, not jobs.” Microsoft’s Brad Smith at Monday’s launch of the Partnership for a Competitive Puget Sound, with former Gov. (GeekWire Photo / Todd Bishop) Detroit, Cleveland and Pittsburgh each had their moment in the sun a century ago, Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith said Monday — and then the warning lights started flashing, and their leaders at the time failed to heed them.