Why Eugene has high unemployment. (Cove: real estate, rent, health insurance)

[brubaker]

An article from the Eugene Weekly just came out...
Eugene Weekly : Coverstory : 8.6.2009

Enjoy.

[Mr Eugenified]

Originally Posted by brubaker

An article from the Eugene Weekly just came out...
Eugene Weekly : Coverstory : 8.6.2009

Enjoy.

Excellent article. One of the best I have read on the subject.

[sarahkate_m]

If the unemployment rate in Eugene counts the Hynix people, that isn't necessarily relevant. They had an option for getting an education to help them find work. When they get their degrees, that'll be the test for whether they should actually factor into this equation.

I only know one person who was from there & he's in school getting a degree. Maybe they didn't all get the same option or maybe some didn't know how to access it.

But the unemployment figure was definitely impacted by the closure of Hynix. And that figure doesn't necessarily mean they CAN'T get a job. Some of them don't have to try until they're done with school.

[mathlete]

The key point in the article as to how Oregon can create jobs and prosperity in the future seems to be this:

"Smart state policies also matter. Anyone who cares about Oregon’s economy and unemployment should support the Legislature’s modest tax fairness measures that target revenue from large, profitable corporations and high-income Oregonians — those individuals and corporations still doing well, despite the recession."

In other words, the key to creating jobs in Oregon is to raise taxes on the likes of Hynix and its owners and shareholders.

(cue Looney Tunes theme music in background)

[sarahkate_m]

kudos. they lost a lot of money when hynix left but they lost money when they came here, too by kissing up to them.... i'm sure the real estate was already a huge savings in itself when they first arrived... since the cost of living was relatively low here, they didn't have to pay as much as they would have had to in wages like they would've had to if they'd gone to Irvine instead...

sigh. you're so right.

[mathlete]

Hynix is a South Korean company with plenty of options besides Oregon's free lunch entitlement culture.

As long as Oregonians persist in the belief that they're owed something for nothing (tax the rich to pay my living expenses) they only have two real options for the future.

One is to slap ankle bracelets on the talented and hard-working and make it a felony for them to cross state lines and the other is to accept a certain future of genteel poverty taking in each others laundry and making each others lattes.

[sarahkate_m]

I'm wondering, Mathlete... are you an Oregonian? A disgruntled, rich tax payer??? I have taken notice that Oregonians hate fees/taxation to the point of cutting off their noses to spite their faces...

I do believe that the rich should shell out a little more because USUALLY they have write offs to offset their taxes, which the underclass do not (renters like myself can't write off rent but the property owners have interest & taxes to write off). The ones with the most largess & comforts should help out.

If I were a property owner, which I have been numerous times, I would'nt mind a LITTLE more taxation. Taxation keeps our schools open, etc. Umm... it keeps the pot holes filled, theoretically... I"ll not hate on Kitty Peircy here....

I was never so poor as a property owner that I couldn't afford Oregon property taxes... As a renter, though, as my circumstances have taken a turn, I don't even need write offs because my income has plummetted.

However, I do love the part of your post about "accept a certain future of genteel poverty taking in each others laundry and making each others lattes".

You left out pumping gas for each other, but then that's good for the economy, so I can't diss that.

[mathlete]

You'd probably be disgruntled too if your neighbor showed up at your door with the police demanding money to pay his health insurance premiums, utilities and grocery bills. Fortunately for most Oregonians though they don't have the talent and work ethic necessary to go that extra mile necessary to create a successful business so they'll never have to experience being typecast as greedy bastards simply because they'd rather offer their neighbor a job instead of giving him money for nothing.

[sarahkate_m]

Originally Posted by mathlete

You'd probably be disgruntled too (i am all the time! - kate) if your neighbor showed up at your door with the police demanding money to pay his health insurance premiums, utilities and grocery bills (i thought that was what welfare was...? - kate) . Fortunately for most Oregonians though they don't have the talent and work ethic necessary to go that extra mile necessary to create a successful business so they'll never have to experience being typecast as greedy bastards simply because they'd rather offer their neighbor a job instead of giving him money for nothing.

were the police were at your door?

btw: i didn't know you were hiring. i won't ask the position. hahaha.

seriously - are you hiring?

kate

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by mathlete

You'd probably be disgruntled too if your neighbor showed up at your door with the police demanding money to pay his health insurance premiums, utilities and grocery bills. Fortunately for most Oregonians though they don't have the talent and work ethic necessary to go that extra mile necessary to create a successful business so they'll never have to experience being typecast as greedy bastards simply because they'd rather offer their neighbor a job instead of giving him money for nothing.

Wow. I've been out of state for a few months now and am going back some time in the fall. Has it really gotten that bad down there? Did you really have someone bring the cops to your door to rob you?