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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (June 11, 2015)
Page 4A OPINION East Oregonian Thursday, June 11, 2015 Founded October 16, 1875 KATHRYN B. BROWN Publisher JENNINE PERKINSON Advertising Director DANIEL WATTENBURGER Managing Editor TIM TRAINOR Opinion Page Editor OUR VIEW We will build it, because they came Earlier this week, the Hermiston agree that a new grade school and School District facilities committee potential middle school is in the recommended a new elementary future.” school for the growing metropolis. It’s an understandable opinion for It also recommended an expansion a city that is feeling some growing of Hermiston High and Sandstone pains, always having to expend more Middle. dollars to stay in front of a increasing The upgrades would cost a lot list of community requirements. of money — somewhere between But Hermiston is also a place that $73.8 million and $131 million, KDVEHQH¿WHGJUHDWO\IURPH[SDQVLRQ depending on how much building is with good jobs and new parks — and required and how much taxpayers a larger population to spread around are willing to fund. A community costs. cool $100 million is a Growing too fast can high price for a small expensive, and it can If we don’t be community that is still lead to a community paying off two previous want children that spurts haphazardly school bonds. Already, without an overarching taking a Hermiston taxpayer long-term plan. with a $100,000 home The older and classes in is paying about $400 a smaller of two bonds, parking lots valued at $30 million, year for those relatively new school facilities and soccer comes off the books in that are already too 2019. That gives fields, we’d June small. the district a little less But something has four years to come better find a than to give. Hermiston up with a facilities plan solution. continues to grow, and to pitch to voters. If the a good bulk of that growth continues, the growth comes from tax base will be bigger young families with school age than ever and hopefully equipped to children. The district has already pay for such an expansion. been forced to use 24 portable The more recent $85 million bond classrooms, and a Portland State doesn’t expire until 2027, and if no University study projects there could expansion has taken place by then be 800 more students taking classes students will either be stacked in in Hermiston in just eight years. If bunk desks or coming to school in that’s the case, the current campus rotating shifts. will have burst at the seams. And if Hermiston School District, always we don’t want children taking classes striving to be Oregon’s premier LQSDUNLQJORWVDQGVRFFHU¿HOGV district, has its work cut out for it. we’d better come up with a solution. To achieve their goal, the district That’s hard to do when the cost is so will need to provide a safe and steep. comfortable place to teach children, 7KH¿UVWFRPPHQWRQRXUVWRU\ cutting costs where possible while that broke the news was: “I don’t raising and spending the necessary want to pay the extra taxes, but I dough to accomplish the mission. Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the East Oregonian editorial board of Publisher Kathryn Brown, Managing Editor Daniel Wattenburger, and Opinion Page Editor Tim Trainor. Other columns, letters and cartoons on this page express the opinions of the authors and not necessarily that of the East Oregonian. OTHER VIEWS Revitalize Main Street Act would support local economies, schools Rehabilitation Incentive for Oregon by EcoNorthwest which took a conservative look at its potential. It determined that he Oregonian’s dismissal of the “Oregon would indeed be better off with Revitalize Main Street Act (SB 565) an HRI.” republished by the East Oregonian The study projects a 4-fold increase UHÀHFWVDVKRUWVLJKWHGYLHZRIWKHVWDWH¶V in rehab projects, creating 1,369 jobs role in the economic health and physical per year with income of $25.5 million, a safety of communities both urban and $35.8 million net gain per year in direct rural, stating that any investment in the development spending, capturing $13.3 restoration of historic infrastructure robs million more federal tax credit dollars, money for and generating schools. We $2.3 million suggest a more more in property holistic view that taxes per year. acknowledges In fact, because schools and we’re bringing local services tangible assets depend on back online to healthy local generate revenue Submitted photo economies to for decades, the support them — Pendleton’s LaDow Block is one example annual increase of an historic downtown building that the the very thing in property tax act would try to help revitalize. SB 565 strives revenues grows to address. dramatically— The Revitalize Main Street Act creates to $9 million by 2025. a state Historic Rehabilitation Fund Another much-needed outcome of capped at $12 million per year from SB 565 is seismic safety. For all the which a rebate would be made to owners truly alarming predictions of economic who restore historic commercial buildings catastrophe and loss of life when The Big and put them back into service in their One hits, meaningful steps to actually communities. LPSOHPHQWVHLVPLFUHWUR¿WWLQJKDYHQRW Hundreds of new jobs would be EHHQWDNHQ%HFDXVHUHWUR¿WWLQJFDQDGG created every year as empty stores, 25 percent to the cost of a project without theaters, apartment buildings, hotels, creating greater market value, state factories, etc. are repurposed and incentives are called for. The Revitalize reactivated. Instead of old buildings Main Street Act would cover this work in attracting crime, vagrancy, or posing addition to other upgrades. safety hazards (which costs communities SB 565 is a grassroots, bipartisan plenty), they would house new initiative backed by hundreds of people businesses, bring residents downtown, from 65 cities, including 36 mayors, 31 and attract heritage tourism. Instead of downtown associations, 36 organizations steadily declining in value, they would ranging from 1000 Friends of Oregon generate millions in new property tax to the Oregon Economic Development revenues to pay for schools and services. Association, and State Treasurer Ted This is a well-tested idea. Thirty- Wheeler. It presents a modest investment ¿YHVWDWHVKDYHLPSOHPHQWHGVLPLODU with a big return in the form of new incentives and study after study has jobs, economic vitality, cultural heritage, proven they generate a positive return. For and seismic safety — while the cost of instance, in Maryland each $1 allocated letting our historic downtowns decline toward rehab incentives generates $8.53 and collapse presents an education in in economic output. Dollar-for-dollar, foolishness. restoring an existing building generates Ŷ more jobs than new construction and Peggy Moretti is the executive director more of the money stays local because a of Restore Oregon; Mike Thorne is a larger percent is labor instead of materials. former state senator and businessman Restore Oregon commissioned from Pendleton; and Sharon Konopa is an economic analysis of a Historic mayor of Albany. By PEGGY MORETTI, MIKE THORNE, SHARON KONOPA T OTHER VIEWS How to beat the bots H ere’s an interesting statistic companies have employees in their from a 2014 labor survey by warehouses, call centers and retail burning-glass.com: 65 percent ÀRRUVZLWKWKHPRWLYDWLRQDQGDSWLWXGH of new job postings for executive to learn the skills for new jobs, but too secretaries and executive assistants few employers identify them or offer now call for a bachelor’s degree, but them online training opportunities; “only 19 percent of those currently and there are rural and urban areas employed in these roles have a B.A.” where tapping into the potential of 6RIRXU¿IWKVRIVHFUHWDULHVWRGD\ Thomas less-credentialed workers could bring would not be considered for two-thirds Friedman IT jobs back to U.S. shores. RIWKHMRESRVWLQJVLQWKHLURZQ¿HOG Check out linkedin.com/edu. Comment because they do not have a four-year LinkedIn has a giant database of degree to do the job they are already millions of workers, which it analyzed doing! The study noted that an “increasing to see which schools are launching the most number of job seekers face being shut out JUDGXDWHVLQWRWKHWRS¿UPVLQDYDULHW\ of middle-skill, middle-class occupations by RI¿HOGV7KH\¶UHQRWDOZD\VZKDW\RX¶G employers’ rising demand for a bachelor’s expect. Accounting? Villanova and Notre degree” as a job-qualifying badge — even Dame. Media? NYU and Hofstra. Software though it may be irrelevant, or in no way developers? Carnegie Mellon, Caltech and capture someone’s true capabilities, or where Cornell. Whether you want to be a plumber or perhaps two quick online surgeon, it is useful to know FRXUVHVZRXOGEHVXI¿FLHQW which schools’ alumni keep This is just one of the ULVLQJDWWKHOHDGLQJ¿UPV problems contributing 7HFKQRORJ\LVUHGH¿QLQJ to unemployment and work and commerce, underemployment today. It and if we’re smart it can was the subject of a seminar DOVRUHGH¿QHHGXFDWLRQ last Thursday jointly for employment and convened by New America, advancement so everyone McKinsey, LinkedIn and can monetize, or improve, Opportunity@Work, a new any skill and connect with civic group led by Byron any employer in need of it. Auguste, who headed “Up to 540 million people President Barack Obama’s FRXOGEHQH¿WIURPRQOLQH recent efforts to reform the talent platforms by 2025,” education-to-work pathway McKinsey said. It is not in America. The meeting’s that hard. We need to be focus was a new McKinsey making much better use of study on how we can use the federal government’s big data and online talent platforms to better labor market data and that of websites like QXUWXUHWDOHQWLQWKHZRUNIRUFH¿QGLWZKHUH Monster.com, HireArt.com and LinkedIn, and it already exists but may not be “badged” by even consider creating skill equivalents of the a college degree and connect it both with the Obamacare health exchanges. Online talent real demands of businesses and with colleges platforms — that can link everyone’s CV with looking to make their curriculum more every job opening, with the skills needed for relevant to changing workforce needs. As Sen. that job, with the online and campus-based Mark Warner, who delivered a smart keynote schools offering those skills with data showing address, noted, “Almost 25 people are running which schools do it best — create more for president — and it is remarkable to me that employment, more relevant skills and the right not one of them is talking about these issues.” education for them. The McKinsey study begins: “Labor Congress needs to create the legal, privacy markets around the world have not kept pace DQG¿QDQFLDOLQFHQWLYHVWRQXUWXUHWKLVQHZ with rapid shifts in the global economy, and social contract, Warner argued: “The biggest WKHLULQHI¿FLHQFLHVWDNHDKHDY\WROO´0LOOLRQV challenge for this labor force, and for federal RISHRSOHFDQ¶W¿QGZRUN³\HWVHFWRUVIURP policymakers, is the change in the traditional WHFKQRORJ\WRKHDOWKFDUHFDQQRW¿QGSHRSOH employer-employee relationship.” If we used WR¿OORSHQSRVLWLRQV0DQ\ZKRGRZRUNIHHO all our technology resources, said Aneesh RYHUTXDOL¿HGRUXQGHUXWLOL]HG´ &KRSUDIRUPHUFKLHIWHFKQRORJ\RI¿FHURIWKH “The skills gap is real,” explained Auguste, United States, we could actually give people “but it is a symptom — not the cause — of “personalized recommendations for every a dysfunctional labor market, along with step of your life — at every step of your life.” stagnant wages and declining job mobility.” Adds Auguste: “We can use technology to do While it’s true that more people need to more than automate tasks. We can use it to master digital skills today, there are, he accelerate learning, optimize talent, and guide noted, a lot of people with skills employers people into better jobs and careers.” are seeking — like coding skills — but who The robots will only take all the jobs if we may lack the traditional credentials to be let them — so let’s use technology to keep the considered for the jobs. There are people who middle skilled in the middle class. would be happy and able to master these skills Ŷ but don’t have the information on what they Thomas L. Friedman won the 2002 Pulitzer are, where best to learn them, or access to Prize for commentary, his third Pulitzer for new learning platforms that are not covered The New York Times. He became the paper’s by traditional government loans or grants; foreign-affairs Op-Ed columnist in 1995. Technology is redefining work and commerce, and if we’re smart it can also redefine education for employment and advancement. The East Oregonian welcomes original letters of 400 words or less on public issues and public policies for publication in the newspaper and on our website. Send letters to 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email editor@eastoregonian.com.
