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Opening Remarks from Richard G. Reiten, Chairman & CEO, NW Natural; Chair, Oregon Business Plan Steering Committee May 27, 2003 -- Leadership Summit Update Meeting Good
afternoon. It's good to see you all here. I'm Dick Reiten, chair of the Oregon
Business Plan Steering Committee. Thank you for joining us for this Leadership
Summit Update. I also want to thank the distinguished guests with us today:
Senator Ron Wyden, Senate President Peter Courtney, and House Speaker Karen
Minnis. Governor Kulongoski will join us later this afternoon. Doesn't
time fly? Just last December 9, more than thirteen hundred Oregonians came
together in Portland to consider the business community's blueprint for our
state’s economic future. In that plan, we pledged to step up to the
challenge. Today we're here to see how we're doing so far and what we need to
do next to keep this good work going. First,
though, a quick overview of what's transpired since the December summit. Here
are some highlights of the economy, the fiscal outlook, and what's happened
with the Oregon Business Plan. The
Economy. Not good but not all bad, either.
The
Fiscal Outlook. In a word, grim. The
May revenue forecast for the 2003-05 biennium is $9.8, another $650 million
hit that puts us 3 percent below General Fund revenue in the 1999-2001
biennium. The
causes are lower personal income tax revenues, including smaller capital
gains. Economists
say it's hard to predict when or how the economy will rebound, but the irony
is that if we adopt a $9.8 billion budget and then do better than expected
with revenue receipts, it could trigger the kicker at a time when services
have been decimated by cuts. The
Oregon Business Plan. The news here is better. Stepping
Up, the document that captures our vision for the future, has been covered and
praised widely in the media, and it has been endorsed by a variety of business
organizations. These include:
Our
political leaders have embraced many elements of the plan, as well.
You'll see the plan's influence in the Governor's economic agenda, in
the House Republican Economic program initiated by Speaker Minnis, and in
Senators Wyden and Smith's agenda for this Congress. As
we have tracked progress over the past six months, we find many of the
proposals set forth in the plan have been translated into legislation and
administrative action. We've done a lot in six months, and we'll look at that
in the breakout sessions to follow, but there is much more to do, a subject of
equal importance in the breakouts. It's
helpful to remember what's at stake and why we're doing this? As I suggested
in opening the December meeting, Oregon stands at an economic crossroad.
Powerful changes sweeping the global economy give is a choice of two futures. One
path presents an Oregon defined by thriving businesses that lead their
industries in innovation, market reach, and staying power. This path heralds a
future of well paying jobs that resist migration and sustain communities. On the other path, Oregon becomes a regional consumer market and a branch-office outpost for industries where key ideas and decisions occur elsewhere. We become vulnerable to competitors off shore and cheaper sources of labor and supply. In
our report, Stepping Up, the business community asserts that Oregon can take
the higher path. In the course of
putting this plan together, we talked with many companies that were developing
great products that compete with the best in the globe, in everything from
agriculture and wood products, to high technology and sports apparel.
We also asserted that continued growth by leading edge companies would not happen by accident. They need certain conditions, a framework if you will, to thrive. We've defined that framework as the 4 Ps Pioneering Innovation, People, Place and Productivity. Parenthetically, we also describe a 5th P -- Public Finance that underscores the framework. Today
we're going to look closely at how we're supporting the 4 Ps framework with
the 12 initiatives we identified in December. Remember,
none of these is a short-term fix for Oregon’s economy.
Each is a building block in the 4 Ps, which are, in turn, building
blocks that enable Oregon companies to be globally competitive, export their
products and services, and create well paying jobs for Oregonians.
That's the path to prosperity. It
requires a long-range view of how our changing economy works, and it requires
disciplined public commitment and investment. Let
me return to the theme of the report, Stepping Up, a vision for the economic
future of Oregon. With
the current state budget crisis, it would be easy to "step away"
from the strategic planning and positioning of our state – a vision for a
prosperous Oregon. And it is imperative that we meet the challenges of the
2003-2005 budget. However,
every successful business or organization goes through difficult times. Those
who look to the future, who continue to think strategically while meeting
current challenges, emerge as successful survivors. We believe that will be
the end result for our state and why this effort and your continued
involvement is so important. Thank you for being here. Now I'd like to introduce Senator Wyden, who first proposed the idea of these summits. Back to Highlights from the May 27 Leadership Summit Update
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