Oregonians need jobs, and they need them now.
That’s why the first significant legislation we’ll pass in this legislative session is the first phase of a state economic stimulus package. The $175 million in projects statewide will provide construction workers and others with an opportunity to get off unemployment and get back to work.
These projects will be built in all 36 counties, at all seven of our universities and all 17 of our community colleges. Yes, some of them are small. But every one of them is ready to go by April. Every one of them provides us with a long-term benefit. And we believe strongly that our state can’t wait to stabilize the impact of a global economy that is hemorrhaging Oregon jobs at an alarming rate.
It’s a choice between putting Oregonians to work, or paying for their unemployment checks and food stamps. Oregonians will bear the costs of this global economic crisis one way or another, and we choose to offer them jobs.
As we wait for the final federal stimulus package, we’re also moving forward several other pieces of our stimulus plan – larger, longer-term projects that will fix our ailing transportation system, construct critically needed projects at our colleges and universities, offer more job training and apprenticeship opportunities, and push forward with efforts to create the nation’s most effective and efficient renewable energy industry.
Some argue that these projects aren’t worthy of bonding. But after years of neglecting deferred maintenance projects statewide, state government is in a unique position to stabilize our economy and rebuild needed infrastructure at the same time.
Yes, we’ll pay some interest on these projects. But because we created a Rainy Day Fund and left a strong ending fund balance during the last legislative session, our credit ratings are solid. The State Treasurer says we can bond more than $1 billion worth of projects and make significant strides toward improving our economy.
It’s easy to pick on a handful of the 300-plus projects. But business owners have told us that this stimulus package will allow them to keep workers employed for few more months, hopefully until the federal stimulus package and the legislature’s next round of construction projects provide another needed boost.
Every dollar we pay in wages for these projects ripples through the economy eight times. Every dollar we use to buy supplies from a local business will mean a healthier local economy. That turns $175 million worth of projects into over $1 billion of economic stimulus across Oregon. To us, that’s a wise investment.
In times of crisis, families have to make choices. Do we use our good credit to fix the transmission on the car and be able to drive to work? Or do we wait until we have the cash to pay up front, even if it means losing our job? Sometimes, the best choice is to pay over time. And that’s the same position state government is in. We can help. We can help now. And we’re going to do it.
For the 3,000 or so Oregonians who will benefit from this first job creation package, their families, local businesses and communities will benefit as well. And for the thousands of workers we’ll put back on the job in the next few months as we approve other projects, this economic crisis will soon be a thing of the past.
We make no apologies for acting quickly in providing this first wave of economic stimulus and job creation. It will only be through the efforts of all Oregonians that we turn this crisis around. And the very first thing we need to do is to get people back to work.
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Oregon stimulus package to benefit economy in long run
Daily Emerald
February 3, 2009
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