The Oregonian ran an editorial by a Midwestern urban affairs writer yesterday that deserves to be trumpeted—if only because it hits on the downsides of this city as well as any article I’ve read over recent years. “Portland should be an economic juggernaut — but isn’t,” writes Aaron M.Renn. Perhaps the problem, he wonders, is that “Portland is actually a bit too livable.”
People move to New York City to test their mettle in America’s ultimate arena. They move to Silicon Valley to strike it rich in high tech. But they move to Portland for values and lifestyle; for personal more than professional reasons; to consume as much as to produce. People move to Portland to move to Portland.
Yay, Portland! Oh, I get it. That’s a negative. Well, yes, I suppose it is. Renn continues:
But civic dynamism fundamentally derives from conflict and dissatisfaction. London architect Sam Jacob once said, “Cities are not about the perfect vision; they are not about a singular idea. They are about a collision of all kinds of incompatible demands.” Portland perhaps has too few conflicts of vision, with too few incompatible demands.
Personally, I have been doing my best to foster a spirit of civic dynamism in the way that Renn describes for the last three years. You’re welcome. Although I haven’t always felt that welcome, as a result.
The unemployment rate in Portland is high because people want to live here*. The only real way to make the unemployment rate lower is to make the city less appealing. Uhmm, no thanks. (You’d think someone from the Midwest could figure out that very simple supply and demand bit.)
The wages are low because we don’t care about money as much as other people. Making the city livable is more important to people in Portland than other places, and as a result, money is less important. It is a compromise. If you look at the numbers they cite, it isn’t like we all on food stamps, in fact we are doing quite well compared to a lot of cities, we are just making slightly less than Seattle.
The lack of a “big” company like Boeing or Microsoft is probably a good thing: Look at how well Nike fits in with the city of Beaverton, ohh wait, they are suing each other. How about Columbia Sportswear? They aren’t even in Portland city limits and yet they try to buy the elections in it. And the Blazers and their plans for the Rose Quarter haven’t exactly been a hit either. Do we really want a bigger, more powerful corporation than those ones trying to call the shots at city hall, (or any place else?) When a “little guy” makes bad decisions it is easier to shoot them down, and everyone is going to make some bad decisions now and then…
All in all, it looks like yet another dumb editorial by the newspaper that has a business they are trying to go out of.
*Okay, that isn’t always the case, but it is the case in Portland where a lot of people are moving here. The other way to make the unemployment rate high is to take away all the jobs at once, like a lot of small “one factory towns” in rural Oregon towns where a significant number of people worked at a lumber mill that then closed, (or for that matter, big “one factory” towns like Detroit, where it wasn’t actually one factory, but one industry.) People take time to adjust, and if a significant number of jobs disappear at once, it can take a while for people to retrain/move/new jobs to appear. That that is yet another argument for not having a big company dominate the city…
I hope everyone sees the irony in bitching about our economy and lack of good jobs, and then going after businesses and entreprenuers for “not paying their fair share.”
@blabby: I really do fail to see the irony. Could you explain it to me?
Tell me when that Dick Florida guy responds. Also, Blabby’s trolling, ignorant, or both.
Graham, it’s the irony of our little burg essentially being anti-business in attitude, and then acting confused that there aren’t lots of businesses here paying high wages.
“Also, Blabby’s trolling, ignorant, or both.”
Sentence much?
@Blabby: I still don’t understand why you think Portland is anti-business due to a state-wide measure. Does this mean that Redmond and Medford are anti-business?
Oregon has a 2nd lowest business tax rate in the country. If taxes are the only reason business locate places, (as opposed to, educated work forces, or low crime rates, or etc,) then it would make sense to keep them low.
1) Taxes are less important than those other things, and that is what the tax increase will fund.
2) We are going to go to 4th lowest. Hardly a big jump.
Graham, I think Portland is anti-business because it is anti-business. Are you a fan of the Portland Business Alliance?
This measure won’t pass in Redmond or Medford. If it passes it will be because of Portland, with an assist from Corvallis and Eugene. Same as it ever was.
Matthew D, Measure 66 will have more impact on business people than 67 will.
??? Are you drunk, or just high? Most of the “business people” that will be affected are a lot like the “dairy farmer” from Tillamook who actually makes most of their money from “other activities” that they aren’t willing to discuss. And the only impact I can see on them is that they might have to spend less of their time taking cooking classes in Italy. The real business owners I know don’t even leave town: they can’t afford it and they don’t have anyone [competent] to watch the place while they are gone.
“The real business owners I know don’t even leave town: they can’t afford it”
So you want to raise their taxes?
Most “rich” people as defined by this measure are not Thurston Howell III living off the family inheritance. Most are successful small business people. And Measure 66 will raise their taxes. That hit will have a greater impact on them than a minimum $150 business tax.
If low taxes are the only measure that drives business growth and Oregon’s taxes are the lowest in the nation why isn’t Oregon an economic juggernaut. Obviously taxes aren’t the reason. They weren’t before and they won’t be after the measures pass. The reason businesses don’t do well in Portland is all the Pabst swilling, free buffet trolling, f**king hippies who are too cheap to spend a buck [and I include myself in that number LOL]. Another is critical mass – we can palaver all we want about Portland as a bleeding edge, new millennial burg , but until we have a couple more million residents there never will economic mass to provide all the jobs, housing, service we imagine we deserve. I for one will be happy if Portland remains a 3rd or 4th tier metropolis.
Renn does make an interesting if ill informed observation “Portland perhaps has too few conflicts of vision, with too few incompatible demands”. Portland is chock a block full of conflicts in vision, but I do think we suffer from an aversion to actual conflict. Ed Garren put it quite succinctly a while back “The culture in this region tends to be conflict-avoidant. People don’t like conflict, they don’t really have a lot of skills to deal with conflict, but the nature of change involves some conflict. You only get change when you confront someone and say this is how your behavior is impacting me, and I need you to change it. Well, if you’re in a conflict-avoidant culture, people don’t have these conversations.”
“I’m from the rural south, and there’s a line down there that ‘a Southerner will be polite until he is ready to kill you.’ What I’ve observed about Pacific Northwesterners is that many people will be polite while they’re killing you. “
“So you want to raise their taxes?”
Yes. Highly successful “small business owners” that make more than $250k/year can afford this tax. Especially when the small business is on the side and they actually make most of their money from “other activities” that they aren’t willing to discuss, and then spend that money in Europe. I see absolutely no problem with raising their taxes. I see even less of a problem with that when they collect $80+k in farm subsidies for their “small business.” They seem to be benefiting from other people paying taxes, why are they be so opposed to the system?
I love people telling other people what they can afford. Nothing sums up Portland better.
Simple solution-stop fucking moving here. There are too many hipster whitebread fucks with nothing to offer flocking here. We don’t need any more barristas or unemployed “artists” thank you. GTFO and go back to whence you came
@Blabby, what’s wrong with the sentence, “Also, Blabby’s trolling, ignorant, or both.”? Is it the contraction that’s throwing you off? It makes you look dumb when you incorrectly correct other people’s grammar, you know?
Thank you @TheShowstopper. Stop moving here, stop whining to me about people not appreciating your “unique gift as an artist”, stop asking me for advice about moving here, and stop telling me why you’re “not like everyone else who moves here.” Admire Portland from afar. Because you’re effing ruining it. It’s half-ruined already.