NEWS FROM OREGON DEMOCRATIC ELECTED OFFICALS
Planning, education key to restoring employment
July 12, 2010
Recently I met a man on the South Coast who has been out of work for 18 months. He already has lost his health insurance and is about to lose his home. He's 59 years old; he has worked hard all his life. He can't understand what's happening to him — to his neighbors; to what he believed was the promise of the American Dream: that if you work hard and play by the rules you can build a better future for your children.
I've met people like him all across our state.
I've seen the impact this recession has had on families and communities. There are over 200,000 middle-class Oregonians facing exactly the same thing. It is time to put them — and Oregon — back to work.
During my two terms as governor, we created over 125,000 jobs in Oregon; wages rose by 49 percent and our state gross annual product rose by 48 percent. This did not happen by chance. It resulted from a series of intentional decisions based on the recognition that while government doesn't create jobs, it can help create the climate in which job growth can occur.
The repeal of the unitary tax; the reform of Oregon's workers' compensation system; the establishment of the Strategic Investment Program; the many trade delegations I led to Asia, Europe and Mexico; the investment we made in rural infrastructure — all laid the foundation for the dramatic economic growth Oregon experienced in the 1990s.
As the only candidate in this race who has direct experience creating jobs, expanding Oregon businesses and bringing new business investment into Oregon, I recognize that we must be willing to readjust our economic development strategy to meet the new challenges we face in the 21st century. I have a detailed plan to do just that.
Its major elements include putting people back to work immediately through large-scale energy-efficiency projects, starting with our public schools; matching people with jobs through realignment of work force training services provided by community colleges and apprenticeship programs; pursuing restoration forestry, biomass and other opportunities in the wood-products industry; supporting our trade sector industries through aggressive marketing and promotion across the U.S. and overseas; ensuring that our tax code supports our economic development objectives; improving capital access to small and medium-sized businesses through state reserves, community banks, credit unions, revolving loan funds, micro-lending and loan guarantees; ensuring that Oregon capital stays in Oregon through local sourcing and supply chains; using state procurement and contracting policies to encourage local contracting, hiring and buying.
At the same time, we must recognize that education and work force training is the foundation of our long-term economic success. As we move through this difficult fiscal environment, we must create a solid foundation from which to rebuild our system of public education from early childhood to college and to ensure that all Oregonians have access to at least two years of postsecondary education.
Finally, to sustain our investments in education over time — and to maintain the fundamental conditions for economic growth and job creation — we must implement my proposals to reduce the rising costs of health care and energy, both of which are a growing burden for businesses, families and individuals in our state.
As a doctor in rural Douglas County, a legislator and a governor, I've spent my life fighting for Oregon and for Oregonians. The challenges we face today require experience, leadership, the determination to never settle for the status quo, and an unbreakable commitment to put Oregon families first. That is exactly what I bring to this race.
