My state of Oregon used to be dependent on logging and lumber but that was replaced by manufacturing in the 80’s.  When the economy goes south both suffer quickly.  This recession was no different – at one point Oregon unemployment was two points higher than the national average.  In January of 2010 the voters in Oregon passed a tax increase for the wealthy and business.  Of course the conservatives said this was a job killing tax increase. As the center right Jack Roberts points out Oregon has been outperforming the nation as a whole since the tax increases were passed.

Many Oregonians would be surprised to learn that only four states — Nevada, Michigan, Indiana and Oklahoma — have had larger unemployment rate drops than Oregon’s over the past year (and both Nevada’s and Michigan’s unemployment rates are still in double digits). In addition, other measures of recovery also show Oregon doing better than most.

While gross domestic product is ordinarily cited as a measure of the national economy, each state also has a GDP representing its total economic production. Last year, Oregon had the eighth highest GDP growth of any state at 3.4 percent, compared to 1.8 percent for California and just 1.6 percent for Washington. Oregon actually had a higher rate of GDP growth than any state in the Far West, Southwest or Rocky Mountain region.

The greatest part of that economic growth was durable goods manufacturing. Of our 3.4 percent increase in GDP, 2.7 percent came from durable goods manufacturing, the largest increase in the nation — ahead of Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin, in that order. The truth is, our reliance on manufacturing is the reason we’re usually hit harder at the beginning of a recession but then bounce back stronger once recovery takes hold.

Oregon has picked up some firms moving from the sinking California – regardless of what you may have heard they are not all moving to Rick Perry’s Texas.  Oregon’s largest employer, Intel is doing very well.  Solar is big here although most of the companies are foreign.  Germany is producing panels in Oregon to feed their own solar revolution.  China is making solar panels here to feed the US market.

Conservatives and Republicans continue to push the idea that tax cuts create jobs although there is no evidence that it’s so.  In fact history would seem to indicate that just the opposite is true.  The Bush tax cuts didn’t create a single job while the greatest economic expansion in the last 40 years occurred after Bill Clinton raised taxes.