Opinion: Growth is a public good. Oregon needs to do a better job encouraging it

Claiborne, Monique

For OregonLive/The Oregonian

Claiborne leads Greater Portland Inc. as its president and CEO. Portland is where she resides.

Some of Oregon’s most well-known firms, including Intel, Nike, and Providence, have let off employees in recent weeks. Office buildings in the downtown area are empty and losing value. At the same time, due to financial constraints, local governments—such as Portland and Multnomah County—are cutting back on initiatives.

These occurrences are not unique. They point to a more serious problem: As the private sector is under greater pressure, Oregon’s capacity to pay for necessary public services is becoming more and more precarious.

The political truth is that elected officials are reelected because of the outcomes that the public observes, such as safer streets, fewer tents, and quicker 911 response times. However, such results rely on a less obvious factor—a robust, expanding economy that contributes to the cost of everything. However, the economic development that propels such expansion is frequently misunderstood and continuously underpaid in governmental budgets.

Economic development is the process of generating high-quality jobs, drawing in private capital, and broadening the tax base—the work that propels economic growth and provides the funding for the services that we all depend on. Ignoring that effort to protect the public services it eventually supports is a temporary solution that will inevitably fail in the long run.

Take Multnomah County, for example. The county has received close to $30 million in lottery cash for economic development during the last five years.However, a large portion of that money was used for debt repayment and construction-related expenses for the Sellwood Bridge projects and new county facilities, which were classified as economic development but were very different from real economic growth.

In an indication of growing skepticism over the very job that drives the tax base, Portland City Council just last month discussed whether to reduce its general fund allocation for its economic development agency.

At the state level, the Oregon Business Development Department, which is responsible for promoting economic growth, helps companies with innovation, trade promotion, and employment creation and retention. Although its main budget of $1.8 billion for 2025–2027 is substantial, a large portion of it is allocated to bond repayments and infrastructure projects that assist pave the way for future growth but do not immediately support private sector expansion.

As a result, a vicious cycle is developing at all governmental levels. Leaders reduce the services that not only make our region livable but also investable as revenue declines. And the spiral keeps going if no course correction is made. This accelerates decline rather than merely managing it.

Economic growth is not a desirable thing. It serves as the basis.

No amount of budget balancing will be sufficient without growth to provide Oregonians with the strong schools, clean parks, secure streets, and quick emergency response they desire.

You can’t expect your phone to remain charged if you don’t plug it in. It ultimately dies, even if you turn down the brightness or shut down certain apps. Recently, an economist discussed some of the reasons that are increasing Portland’s danger of falling into a doom loop and how tough it is to escape one. The message is unmistakable: our area requires revitalization.

Economic progress is a game-changer. It provides a route to better things, like new jobs, increased income, boosted self-esteem, and evidence that things may get better. Leaders have something to respond to. It is the narrative that leaders can use to transition from defense to attack.

Restarting the private sector’s growth engine is more important to real economic progress than simply improving infrastructure. This entails making significant investments to address our empty office buildings and declining tax base, including campaigns to promote Portland as a growth destination, measures that incentivize businesses to develop here, and incentives to attract large employers.

The people of Oregon are not requesting miracles. However, we do need to demand more from our elected officials and from one another. Because our leaders won’t either until we view economic growth as vital. Without that change, they will continue to handle crises rather than preparing for the future.

Company executives cannot succeed on their own. Everybody who depends on public money has an interest in a thriving economy and a responsibility to protect the laws that propel it.

Economic development is the only way to maintain essential services; it is not a trade-off. The politics change when that message is reiterated in public testimony, council meetings, op-eds, and budget hearings. Instead of being viewed as a special interest, growth is now recognized as a public good.

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