A post over on the Powerline Blog points out an amazing video made by some concerned citizens about the ongoing state of malaise in the State of Oregon. It gives a very clear explanation of the reasons I am not willing to go back there for anything other than a visit. My company has announced they will move to Oregon next year. They would like me to go along. I think that would be a hard thing to do. I am a native son of Oregon (family first arrived in 1846 on the Applegate Trail). My parents and all my siblings live there. I still believe it is, by far, the most beautiful state in the union. It is also one of the most intolerant states in the union–especially to people with my worldview. The following is a quote from the Powerline Blog post that captures the flavor of both the video and the post itself. I especially like the last line in this quote.
Even aside from the Obamacare fiasco and Kitzhaber’s ethical problems, the state has been in relative economic decline for more than two decades, with an unemployment rate consistently above the national average and income growth lagging the national average. Its public school performance is dismal, without the usual excuses of a large low income or minority population. Yet no one seems to connect any of these difficulties to the dominance of one political party. Perhaps you’ve taken in an episode of Portlandia? Believe me, as a frequent visitor to Portland (the city where young people go to retire), it is indeed a documentary.
If you don’t want to watch the whole 30 minutes, you can find some shorter videos by the same guys on the same subject here. On the other hand, if you wonder why I did my graduate work in Texas and currently live in North Carolina, watch the whole thing.
Outstanding video…. points out clearly OREGON’s problems. After recent elections, it seems like “business as usual” with no solutions to the bureaucratic problems. It’s very distressing and makes one realize that nothing is about to change….same governor, same people back in Salem. Thanks for pointing this out so clearly! If we did not have family and properties here in beautiful Oregon we also would choose to leave. Several close friends have done just that.
I love to hear this Sherman and Leslie! You are always welcome in North Carolina. I love Oregon just like you and would love to be there. Maybe it will turn around sometime, but I doubt if it will be in our lifetime.
Some thoughts.
KFF analysis of Oregon puts it in a unique position: a state without a large low-income areas, that also did not expand Medicaid, that witnessed a large increase in premiums from 2014 to 2015.
http://kff.org/health-reform/issue-brief/analysis-of-2015-premium-changes-in-the-affordable-care-acts-health-insurance-marketplaces/
This article points out the usefulness of Washington as a control group for the poor results of the PPACA in Oregon.
http://www.politico.com/story/2014/03/obamacare-in-oregon-a-failed-exchange-105189.html
The failure of CoverOregon.gov, largely administrative and communicative, not only left a relatively small base of those insured through exchanges relative to those projected, it also caused a lack of faith in the state government.