Oregon, My Oregon

Wweek.com The Departure of Oregon Companies Speaks to a Bigger Problem for the State "How much faith can one retain in the local workforce when Oregon’s fourth and eighth grade test scores for reading and writing are among the nation’s worst?"

The idea that Tektronix, once the state’s largest employer, would leave Oregon is as daunting as the possibility that Nike, or Columbia Sportswear, would someday give up on its home. That’s because the Portland-born founders of Tek, Howard Vollum (Don’s father) and Jack Murdock, were deeply rooted in Oregon when they created it in 1946, some 700 patents ago.

“Tek was in Portland because my dad and Jack Murdock were from here,” Don Vollum says. “It had nothing to do with economic development, lower taxes or a better work force. The same is true with Phil Knight [and Nike].”

Microsoft? “They were in Albuquerque, and [Bill Gates and Paul Allen] wanted to go home [to Seattle],” Vollum says. “Businesses begin in a place because they have a connection. The better question today is if and why they stay. “That next generation of professional managers is when people look at education and taxes and workforce.”

And in Oregon, today’s view and tomorrow’s forecast are bleak.  “The combination of high taxes, poor services and poor schools isn’t a winning one, and that’s where we are,” Vollum says. “You put those pieces together and you have a place that’s not desirable for people if they’re starting or running a business.”

I was in Corvallis, Oregon, when Hewlett Packard built a plant there, betting on the educated workforce, and relatively (compared to California) low taxes and cheap land. They're still there, but I wonder how long that will last.