Economic Security
In my first speech as a declared candidate for this office, I announced my chief aim was to help foster sustainable economic growth. Why? Because expanding opportunity for all—ensuring that everyone who works hard has a fair chance to make the most of their lives—depends on a strong economy. And a strong economy, in turn, requires a state government with the good sense to abide by the dictum: markets when possible, the state when necessary. Without question, the private sector, regulated in the public interest, is the best engine for general prosperity.
The main challenge to achieving a stable, robust economy is not a matter of the market versus the state; rather, it’s a matter of institutional design. What’s the best collective arrangement? To my mind, the state should concentrate on providing the fundamental infrastructure necessary for economic growth and avoid detailed regulation of business practices and market structures insofar as competitive forces are conducive to the common good.
As a small business owner, I know the challenges of creating good-paying jobs and meeting a payroll. I understand the struggles of businesses to generate sustainable growth. And in my experience, the state works best when it focuses on establishing the right conditions for business success, with minimal interference in actual business operations.
Recent economic indicators show that we’re on the right track. For the first time in more than 40 years, Oregon’s unemployment numbers are better than the national average during a slow-growth or recessionary period. What’s more, Washington County is now the acknowledged center of economic development in the state, leading the way in business and job growth in vital traded sectors like alternative energy and biotech.
It’s important to acknowledge the importance of traded sector companies—companies involved in national and international trade that bring net new dollars into the state. The U.S. Dept. of Commerce just released numbers for the Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton region that shows companies are on pace to generate about $15.2 billion in export revenue, making us the 15th largest exporting region in the country.
One of my goals as your State Representative is to capitalize on this type of success, in part, through targeted tax incentives. I helped pass Business Energy Tax Credit (BETC) legislation in 2007 and in 2008 (during the supplemental session in February) designed to attract alternative energy manufacturing companies like SolarWorld and SpectraWatt to our community. Together, these firms are on track to employ over 2,000 people in good-paying positions with a future.
We’ve made substantial progress in growing green collar jobs in the last two years, but more remains to be done. As for my role, I’m actively engaged in redesigning the state’s workforce development system. The overarching goal of the redesign is to fill the talent pipeline with workers qualified for in-demand, well-paying jobs. I’m working with eight state agencies and the Governor’s office on streamlining our workforce development system in order to accelerate job growth and improve accountability for meeting state employment targets.
Without getting into the details of that plan, here’s what I hope to accomplish in relation to green collar jobs:
- To strengthen the capacity of our community colleges to address the short-term needs of the clean energy industry;
- To establish industry internship and mentoring systems;
- To integrate clean energy elements into the core curriculum for conventional academic and technical programs for engineers, electricians, plumbers, building sciences and others; and
- To create pathways out of poverty into the clean energy industry and create career advancement pathways within industry sectors.
As you’ve probably surmised, realizing these goals will require a combination of forward-thinking public policy and an entrepreneurial private sector. I’d appreciate your vote of confidence in moving forward on these initiatives.