The economic summit set for Monday in Portland is billed as
a crucial meeting of the minds of Oregon's business and
political leaders. But for the many public officials still in
denial about their role in the state's slumping economy, the
gathering is more likely to be the equivalent of an
intervention.
Some of the beefier business leaders may even have to block
the exits after they hand out copies of the new Oregon
Business Plan to lawmakers at the meeting. The document,
titled "Stepping Up," isn't shy about identifying
who must take the big steps if Oregon is going to have a
vibrant economy again: It's the state's elected leaders.
The Oregon Business Plan is a powerful rebuttal to those in
the Legislature who have spent the past year claiming that all
the state really needs to do during this recession is avoid
raising taxes, cut services to balance the budget and wait
with fingers crossed for the economy to rebound.
There are 12 "initiatives to act on right away"
on the second page of the business plan produced by a
committee of Oregon businesspeople. At least 10 of the steps
are either all or primarily the responsibility of the public
sector.
The plan makes clear why Oregon's jobless rate is among the
worst in the nation, and why its economic future is in
jeopardy: timid, small-minded and shortsighted public
leadership.
Many of the big steps that Oregon's economy demands
"right away" are things that the Legislature has
utterly failed to accomplish over more than a decade: a stable
public-finance system, a sustainable public pension plan, a
stronger highway and bridge system, significant improvements
to K-12 schools and universities.
The state has taken baby steps on other things on the list
-- ramping up graduates in engineering and other high-tech
fields, updating land-use laws and refocusing economic
development. But our political leaders have done nothing on
the scale required by Oregon's economic challenges.
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden suggested the all-day summit Monday at
the Oregon Convention Center. Wyden, Gov.-elect Ted Kulongoski
and dozens of Oregon legislators are expected to attend. The
event will be a success if Kulongoski and lawmakers come away
with a better understanding of Oregon's economy and what they
must do in the next year to help it recover and flourish.
The business plan urges Oregon to play to its economic
strengths -- its "clusters" of successful businesses
in semiconductors, sports apparel and footwear, engineered
wood products, creative services, nursery products and
recreation vehicle manufacturing.
In a separate significant report, the Oregon Council on
Knowledge and Economic Development makes a powerful case for
the state to focus much of its efforts on bioscience and
technology-based companies. Oregon is one of only four states
where high-tech is now the leading employer. What Oregon most
needs to attract are the creative people and ideas driving the
high-tech industry -- and the venture capital that funds them.
The council's report recommends a modest public investment
in high-tech business development -- about $76 million in the
next biennium. It also makes a persuasive case for reducing or
eliminating Oregon's capital gains tax, and creating narrowly
targeted exemptions in the income tax to draw people here with
the ideas and the money to create thousands of new high-tech
jobs.
None of this is possible without better, more engaged
public leadership on economic issues. The Oregon Business Plan
clearly lays out the challenges:
Oregon's public finance system is in current crisis and
long-term imbalance. Its schools and universities are getting
financially weaker at the very time they must be strengthened
and improved.
Legal and regulatory gridlock is harming Oregon's ability
to use its forest, water and natural resources to benefit both
the economy and the environment.
Oregon is losing its traditional cost advantages in energy
supply and can no longer take its water supply for granted.
Many communities, including those in the Portland
metropolitan area, are running short of land for key
industrial development.
These problems require public leadership. The business
community is right to lay them at the feet of Kulongoski, the
Legislature and local officials, and right to make this
demand: Step up.
