Paul Warner, Oregon Legislative Revenue Officer, testified before the House Transportation and Economic Development Committee on 9/22/11. The topic was “Oregon Economists’ Views of Opportunities for Expanded Economic Activity in Oregon.” The first part of his presentation is shown in the above video.
Note that he makes two points relevant to, and often made on, this blog. He discusses both (1) the increasing importance and growth of the Chinese economy and (2) the importance of international exports in our future. He says “It is going to have to be exports and business investments that drive economic growth in the US in order to restore the imbalances that have happened.”
Oregonian reporter Harry Esteve, in his article “Oregon’s economy: Little for law maker to do but wait and think long term” on this same hearing, missed these two points. He wrote (here):
Oregon's economy was smacked so hard by national and global forces that there's little the state can do but hang on, hope for the best and look five to 10 years down the road, a panel of economists told a solemn panel of lawmakers Thursday.
"The most important advice I can give you is, there is almost nothing you can do in the short run," said Joe Cortright, founder of Impresa, a Portland economic consulting business. "We're along for the ride here."
Legislators, meeting in Salem this week in preparation for next February's session, are struggling to come up with a remedy for Oregon's stagnant unemployment rate, flagging personal incomes and deflating state budget. They called on some of the state's top economists to give them some inspiration……
Esteve mentions neither the increasing importance of China nor the increasing importance of exports to Oregon economic future in his article.
What we, and state government, can to do is tweak our educational system toward supporting more exports: stronger foreign language and study abroad programs.
What we, and state government
Posted by: cheap jeans | September 26, 2011 at 12:20 AM