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People keep saying this, yet Oregon is far from the bottom of the list of "business unfriendly" states when you start looking at the number of new businesses per capita, net value, etc. It's not the best either, but it's certainly not even in the bottom 30.
The problem for cities like Portland and states like Oregon is that a lot of states in other areas have started wiping the backsides of their business community to the detriment of everything else.
Then there are states like Kansas which have gone so pro-business that they've gone from wiping backsides to installing a bidet.
Like many city dwellers, you seem to think a city is a self-sufficient unit. Nothing is farther from the truth. Portland makes its money supporting the rural areas, and has done nothing to improve that support in 30 years. You think small town mill closures mean nothing, but who do you think built and maintained the equipment for those mills? Where were the heavy machine shops and fabrication facilities?
If Portland businesses are having a hard time, it's because they have walked away from their customer base. It's the countryside that creates the wealth for urban concentrations. A city that only sells to itself is practicing cannibalism, and will eat itself to death.
I totally agree with you. Oregon has incredible natural resources as well as a strategic location and good ports. We have a LNG pipeline that stops in southern Oregon, I believe it is the ruby pipeline. Let's get this thing connected to the coast and export this stuff overseas. I don't want oregons natural beauty to be compromised but the radicals have taken it too far. They want us to build more wind turbines that are heavily subsided and I believe to be more of an eyesore than an underground pipe. Also, this includes the on pipeline that should go through Astoria. We have cheap NG that everybody wants, let's take advantage of it and ignore this wind turbine stuff until it makes economic sense. And don't get me started with all of the solar junk they want west of the cascades. Not the place for it!
And that's what Portland wants in it's mayoral office, so be it.
IMHO, nowadays, the Mayor is just a mouthpiece for real estate developers and old money Portland that have a definite ideas for the future of Portland.
Watch where/how all the CoP's money is spent.
It's an act for all the complacent, apathetic Portlanders to watch while some people are getting very rich.
IMHO, nowadays, the Mayor is just a mouthpiece for real estate developers and old money Portland that have a definite ideas for the future of Portland.
Watch where/how all the CoP's money is spent.
It's an act for all the complacent, apathetic Portlanders to watch while some people are getting very rich.
That complacency and apathy isn't isolated to Portland, it's nationwide. There's a very good reason why American Idol was the #1 show for 10 years and Lady Gaga is so popular. As long as the docile, apathetic masses are kept distracted long enough to look the other way, corporate America will continue to run our government.
IMHO, nowadays, the Mayor is just a mouthpiece for real estate developers and old money Portland that have a definite ideas for the future of Portland.
Watch where/how all the CoP's money is spent.
It's an act for all the complacent, apathetic Portlanders to watch while some people are getting very rich.
I agree with you on many levels there. If I actually lived in Portland I'd be more active in trying to fix that.
Well, I am in the process of moving out of the city and county limits and only spend about 50% of my time in Portland now.
To me, the "Oregon" lifestyle is much better than the "Portland" lifestyle.
Frankly, I could care less about Portland anymore.
That's my way of "getting involved".
I have noticed a few thing that to me are typical Portland.
There is a tremendous amount of involvement in things like scouts, sports, neighborhood issues; a ton of "grass roots" level support and involvement.
But once it gets to the city level, citizen involvent becomes nil.
People are REALLY concerned and involved to the neighborhood level and then it stops.
It seems like people consider their neighborhoods to be their own little villages, and the City of Portland (CoP) is some mysterious entity run by "them".
It's almost like the citizens of Portland think the city goverment is so big and controlling that it can't be challenged anymore.
With all the dumb things and as much public money as our CoP government has wasted, you would think that there would be some sort of public outcry, but all there is is crickets chirping.
As long as you play by "them's" rules, everything is OK.
Disagree with "them" and you better have thick skin and deep pockets.
Last edited by pdxMIKEpdx; 05-27-2012 at 07:41 PM..
Well, I am in the process of moving out of the city and county limits and only spend about 50% of my time in Portland now.
To me, the "Oregon" lifestyle is much better than the "Portland" lifestyle.
Frankly, I could care less about Portland anymore.
That's my way of "getting involved".
I have noticed a few thing that to me are typical Portland.
There is a tremendous amount of involvement in things like scouts, sports, neighborhood issues; a ton of "grass roots" level support and involvement.
But once it gets to the city level, citizen involvent becomes nil.
People are REALLY concerned and involved to the neighborhood level and then it stops.
It seems like people consider their neighborhoods to be their own little villages, and the City of Portland (CoP) is some mysterious entity run by "them".
It's almost like the citizens of Portland think the city goverment is so big and controlling that it can't be challenged anymore.
With all the dumb things and as much public money as our CoP government has wasted, you would think that there would be some sort of public outcry, but all there is is crickets chirping.
As long as you play by "them's" rules, everything is OK.
Disagree with "them" and you better have thick skin and deep pockets.
Well, I am in the process of moving out of the city and county limits and only spend about 50% of my time in Portland now.
To me, the "Oregon" lifestyle is much better than the "Portland" lifestyle.
Frankly, I could care less about Portland anymore.
That's my way of "getting involved".
Already beat you to it. I got sick of sitting back watching the money-mongers get richer off the backs of the population, all while putting up the whole ideological distraction for the masses to fight each other over.
Let me put it simply: It's not about corporations, or progressives, or conservatives, or any "side." What it is about is a few folks (of every political stripe) who figured out that they can rake in a ton of money at your expense, all the while keeping you, Joe Sixpack, busy and distracted.
Quote:
People are REALLY concerned and involved to the neighborhood level and then it stops.
It's a pretty powerful thing, stopping at one's own backyard.
I noticed out here (by contrast) that folks who live here year-round do get (very!) involved at the town-wide level. We tend to see a more rapid turnover in elected (and hired) positions as a result.
Don't get me wrong, there are places out here where certain moneyed interests tend to run things to their own taste - public good be damned. On the other hand, their reach is fairly short, as is the longevity of their power. Makes 'em fairly easy to isolate.
You typed 90's the first time, but many feel that the 60's were Oregon's best time and that there were no good ol' days in the 90's.
It was. I didn't move here until late-70's but Oregon's economy had already begun to receed. And despite a few good years here 'n' there, the job market has never been that good. I remember ferocious competition for jobs in the 80's AND 90's.
Reasons that the job market has always been bad in Oregon.
High Taxes.
Unfriendly government entities when one wants to set up a business.
States that are business friendly, are getting the jobs.
States that are business unfriendly, and high taxes, are loosing out. Examples: California government is in trouble, as they have raised tax levels and made it very business unfriendly that business is bailing out. The same for New York. The loss of businesses, and jobs, is hurting both states.
If Oregon was business friendly, they could attract those businesses and industries that are leaving California.
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