Whats holding Oregon Back from Growth?

Whats Holding Oregon Back from Growth?

Rachael Hendrix Bennett
Portland State University

Whats holding Oregon Back from Growth?

Introduction
As the United States begins revving its economic engines once again, one state is still
stuck in 2008. Oregon residents are dismayed at the rate at which employment seems to be
climbing, and that is next to nothing. With a 6.9% unemployment rate (Bureau, 2014) many
wonder, whats holding Oregon back? While Governor John Kitzhaber and Dennis Richardson,
opposing Republican candidate, can both agree the dependency on welfare is driving down job
growth both are at a loss on how to solve the issue. Making for unique stances from each
candidate and still puzzlement from the community on how this issue of job growth will be
solved.

Oregon Unemployment

Since the beginning of the Great Recession in 2008 Oregon has trailed behind in
unemployment rates and job growth. Just as of this June the state saw a loss of 3,000 jobs and
was able to replace only 200 of them a whole month later (Young, 2014). This constant yo-yo
effect can be attributed to many things, and welfare dependency strikes at the top of the list.
During the Great Recession we saw Oregons welfare recipients increase by 19.1% in just over a
year, from 2007 to 2008 (New York, 2011). But what is most shocking is the numbers havent
seemed to decrease. Many attribute this large amount of welfare dependents to a faulty job by the
Department of Human Services (DHS), who had the funding but failed to use it properly. Also
the increase in cash assistance has cause major problems within the organization, leading some to

Whats holding Oregon Back from Growth?

speculate they have little to no time to deal with cases properly. This combined with limited job
availability makes it no wonder that Oregon has yet to get out of the recession slum.
However in the United states the unemployment rate has been making a steady ascent and
even during the recession strikingly the national welfare caseload did not increase during the
Great Recession (Danzinger,2010)(Scott and Leymon). If this is true than why is it that Oregon
add 10,000 welfare cases (New York,2011) in its first year of the recession and continues to
struggle to get people back into the work force. The answer to this question, like many others
being asked, is jobs. In Oregon people are demanding more jobs than can be added. This causes
the increased slum weve seen over recent years in the unemployment number, for how can you
work if there is none available. Worst of all is many of these people have also maxed out their
unemployment befits leading them to use the cash welfare system and ultimately stay
unemployed for a longer period of time. Answers to issues like these are some that will need to
be found in the coming years if Oregon is going to see a decrease in its unemployment number
and a reduction of those on welfare.

Governor John Kitzhaber

Incumbent Governor of Oregon John Kitzhaber, who is now seeking a fourth reelection,
is a firm believer in welfare for the people. However he is also aware of its impacts upon the
state and disastrous effect on jobs. Back in 2012 the state saw one of his first moves to reduce
welfare dependency without reducing welfare. In a proposed budget Kitzhaber would increase
cash welfare but limit the number of year it would be available to that particular family. With the

Whats holding Oregon Back from Growth?

national average sitting at 5 years Kitzhabers plan would reduce availability to just 3 years and
in the past he has tried to limit it to just 18 months.
Now with reelection on the line many are wondering if other steps like these are going
to be taken to help reduce welfare and bring in jobs. Though there was no mention of welfare or
really jobs in the recent gubernatorial debates at all, Kitzhaber has made his stance clear. In 2013
he stated Our great challenge is to ensure that the next phase of Oregon's economic "recovery"
reaches all Oregonians ( Kitzhaber, 2013), affirming to the public that his ideas stretch beyond
just food stamps and temporary solutions. For Oregonians this comes as a great relief as many
rely on cash welfare for their source of income and would be at a loss without the assistance.
These kinds of actions combined with the moral responsibility he appears to have for
welfare show why he has been elected time and time again. But as unemployment numbers seem
to be stagnating many find themselves turning away from these charitable deeds and are listening
to a new option.
Dennis Richardson
Opposing candidate, Republican Dennis Richardson who has been in the House of
Representatives since 2003 feels it is time to make a change within Oregon. He is acutely aware
of the lack of job growth within Oregon and feels as though his policies could make a change.
Creating jobs and providing the right kind of funding are high on his list and to do so he must
inevitably address the issue of welfare.
Richardson believes in trimming the fat and he seems to think that the DHS and many
welfare organizations carry to much weight. To help solve this problem Richardson believes
workforce and budget cuts are the best option initiate the elimination of hundreds of middle

Whats holding Oregon Back from Growth?

manager positions while transitioning to a self-management team (Richardson) This kind

of action is what is common in many of Richardsons other proposed ideas for solving the issue
of unemployment. He wants to focus funding in certain areas instead of having it spread so thin.
In the case of welfare there would be large budget and employment cuts to not only help save
money but provide more funding for energy and industry.
Whether or not this will be good for Oregon is yet to be seen. Many feel as if Oregon is
ready for a change and new policies are needed to lift her out of this slump. Richardson, if
elected would defiantly be the one to bring about the majors changes, not just for welfare, but in
almost all areas.
Opinion
Oregons dependency on welfare seems to be a massive issue within the state as a whole.
The lack of job growth that steams from it is concerning as well as the ever present amount of
funds that are thrown toward it each year. But none the less it is easy to see how important
welfare is for Oregon, which is why I feel dependency must be cut but done slowly. If we are to
see an increase of people getting back on their feet its going to take time, but it cant take all the
time in world. The DHS has a track record for being slow and unproductive, but it also has a
record for being overwhelmed. With 10,000 new cases add just after the first year of the
recession (New York, 2011), its no wonder the DHS is still brimming with cases. But this
doesnt excuse the fact that unemployment is 2% high than the national average and that not
many solutions are being proposed to solve this issue.
For Oregon to make head way in this ever present crisis of welfare dependency, the
addition of jobs and the reduction of welfare cases will need to happen. Likely this will mean

Whats holding Oregon Back from Growth?

more, not less spending on welfare to increase the number of case managers and others willing to
help place unemployed people back in the work force. For many this sounds as though Oregon is
heading in the wrong direction, as it appears to be much like Kitzhabers budget proposal of
2012, which seems to have done nothing for the state. But to get Oregon out of the slump its
been in since 2008 is a long road, an there doesnt seem to be a clear answer as to really how it
will get there. But eventually it will happen and depending on the candidate chosen this
November it will happen in much different ways.
Conclusion
The State of Oregon is being held back from job growth by welfare dependency. Each
year an upwards of 50,000 people are still on some form of welfare, though the recession ended
over 3 years ago. This dependency is slowing down job growth and creating the 6.9%
unemployment rate we see today. Governor John Kitzhaber and opposing Republican candidate
Dennis Richardson are both acutely aware of the lack of jobs in Oregon and both seem ken on
fixing this issue. But neither one seems to have a solid grasp on welfare. Though both have a
plan, Kitzhabers continued funding has done just that, funded. While Richardsons proposed
idea of budget cuts would eliminate much needed jobs and funding from the program. Both of
these plans appear to show the candidates have a lack of understanding for what welfare truly is.
It seems that welfare dependency is a strongly misunderstood area within the Oregon
government and is likely to be swept under the rug in the coming years. But for Oregon to have a
brighter future the issues must be addressed in some form or fashion within the next few years,
or we may continue to see the ever present unemployment grow.

Whats holding Oregon Back from Growth?

References
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JOBS REPORT: Unemployment Rises in Oregon - 219 Straight Months of Unemployment Above the National
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Whats holding Oregon Back from Growth?