PART 1
By Toni Webb
January 26, 2015
NewsWithViews.com
American’s Personal Financial Assessments Up Sharply
Josephine County, Oregon. -After falling amid the economic downturn, Americans' satisfaction with their personal lives recovered to 85%. Satisfaction with the direction of the U.S. surged nine percentage points since December to 32%, one of its best readings in eight years. In the U.S., 47% say they are financially better off now than a year ago.
So why is Josephine County lagging behind the county and the State? Partly because we are the only county in Oregon without an Economic Development department or community-based initiative and partly because, historically, the legislators in Salem have given the lion’s share of attention and funding to the northern half of the state.
On January 6, 2015, Business Oregon (a State agency) hosted the 12th annual Leadership Summit in Portland; I attended, as did Commissioner Simon Hare. Governor Kitzhaber gave the keynote address, telling the audience that Oregon is ahead of schedule on the portion of the Business Plan goal to grow 25,000 new jobs by 2020. Oregon’s Business Plan goals include: growing new jobs, raising personal incomes to at least the national level, and reducing poverty to less than 10%.
The Business Oregon (www.oregon4biz.com) priorities for 2015 are:
- connecting education to careers and skilled job openings that are going unfilled
- putting our natural resources to work to revitalize rural economies
- modernizing our infrastructure to connect with the global marketplace
Josephine County is at a distinct disadvantage by having no economic development plan, office, or advocate based in our county. Neighboring Jackson County is home to the Southern Oregon Regional Economic Development Initiative (SOREDI). Both Grants Pass and Josephine County contribute financially to SOREDI, each giving $25,000 to that organization. Last year, the City of Grants Pass gave office space to the SOREDI staff to use when they are in this area.
What could an economic development coalition look like in Josephine County? The challenge first is to create an improved perception for economic growth, which can be partly accomplished through a branding campaign that will encourage people to think differently about our county. Perception is reality, as they say, and when people start viewing the county more positively, more opportunities will come our way. Many companies in larger cities are looking to get out of high-rent areas. Executives in crowded, high traffic cities are sometimes looking to get back to their entrepreneurial roots in a rural area. Josephine County could become one of the most desirable areas in which to bring a business or retire.
An educated workforce is the linchpin of businesses that we want to retain, grow, and attract. If we are to attract high-tech, high-paying jobs, we need to work together as a community with the schools to increase the high school graduation rate. According to the State of Oregon report, the graduation rate in Josephine County is only about 65%. It may be necessary for Rogue Community College to offer GED and tech-specific training classes in several County locations. By providing a work-ready labor force, we will be able to attract some excellent companies to our county. We all know local young people who went away to college and would be glad to “come home” if only they had good job opportunities. The students who work hard to stay in school and graduate don’t have much opportunity for a job, and our community leaders need to step up to help change that situation by investing in an economic development coalition similar to the many business-based initiatives all over the United States.
I have been told many times, by company owners and employees, that local companies do not want a Google or an Intel moving into this area. Why? Because the local companies stand to lose their best employees to a new company that offers good wages and benefits. If unemployment is high, then companies have a large labor pool from which to hire, and companies can then keep wages low. That is a very shortsighted attitude on the part of local companies, because high unemployment invariably leads to higher crime when people get desperate to stay off the street and feed their families.
High unemployment is also linked to many other social problems, such as domestic violence, alcohol and drug abuse, and depression. The Congressional Budget Office stated in a 2012 report on high unemployment that there are people “who would like to work but have not searched for a job in the past four weeks as well as those who are working part time, but would prefer full-time work; if those people were counted among the unemployed, the unemployment rate in January 2012 would have been about 15 percent.” It was officially 8.3 percent at that time. In the 18-25 year-old group in Josephine County, unemployment is estimated to be as high as 30%. These young people don’t have the chance to contribute to the economy, and less working people paying tax means less government revenue.
Some of these young people rely on government services, which means that the working people have to pay even more tax to support the unemployed. As workers are forced to take part-time jobs and fall into lower income brackets, tax revenues fall even further.
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For over four years, I have been attending business and economic development associations and committee meetings. I have made numerous visits to the State Capitol to meet with legislators concerning the issues in Southern Oregon and attended City and County government meetings. I have a vision for Josephine County in which we prosper economically and protect the natural beauty of the area. I’ve talked with hundreds of residents and business owners to learn about their concerns and priorities. I have no doubt that we can create a successful economy in Josephine County. For part two click below.
Click here for part -----> 1, 2,
© 2015 Toni Webb - All Rights Reserve
Share This ArticleToni Webb is a native of Grants Pass, OR. She has an internet marketing business. After studying international relations at the International Peoples College in Denmark, she returned to Oregon to get her BA at Marylhurst University. She then went on to get her MBA and a Masters equilvalent in Healthcare Management. She has founded three nonprofits and served on the Boards of five nonprofits.
Toni was formerly on the City of Grants Pass Historic Buildings and Sites Commission. She is currently on the Josephine County Historical Society and Josephine County Spay and Neuter Fund. She ran for County Commissioner in 2012, with a good showing coming in second in the General Election.
E-Mail: toniwebb3@yahoo.com
