Regenerating Oregon’s Economy
Oregon has never won by copying other states.
We didn’t become known for our forests by clear-cutting them. We didn’t become known for innovation by racing to the bottom on taxes. We built a reputation for stewardship, creativity, and independence. It’s time to build again.
The Founding Tension We Never Resolved
There is a contradiction at the heart of the American project that we have never fully faced.
On the one hand, we claim that all people possess inherent dignity—that worth is not something you earn, but something you are born with. On the other hand, we built our economic system around a very different assumption: that dignity must be proven through productivity, discipline, and success in the market.
Balancing Capitalism and Democracy has created benefits for us as a Nation, but the tension between the two can only stand so much inequality before something breaks.
Productivity Is a Story We Tell to Keep the Pyramid Standing
If we measured productivity from a human baseline starting with:
bodily limits
caregiving requirements
time to recover
the need for meaning and safety,
many of our “efficient” systems would look wildly irrational.